Greenlandic Regional Anthem for String Orchestra

The song was written in 1912 by Greenlandic priest Henning Jakob Henrik Lund, originally set to the melody of the Swedish national anthem, "Du gamla, du fria". It was one of the first Greenlandic national songs and has been suggested to have been written as a national battle song for politicians pushing for a bill on home rule.^[

In 1937, organist and piano teacher Jonathan Petersen composed a melody for the anthem. In 1916, it was translated into Danish by Eskimologist William Thalbitzer. It was the only Greenlandic song translated into Danish, and remained so for many years, and as such was given official status as the national anthem of Greenland by Denmark. It was performed in this role at the University of Copenhagen in 1921 for the 200th anniversary of missionary Hans Egede's landing in Greenland and in 1937 for King Christian X's 25-year jubilee. In 1985, Thalbitzer's Danish translation was refined by theologian Mads Lidegaard