Icelandic National Anthem for Brass Quintet

The Icelandic national anthem Ó, guð vors lands (Our country's God) was originally written as a hymn on the occasion of the nationwide celebrations held in 1874 to commemorate the millennium of Iceland's settlement. Religious services were held all over the country and the text for the sermons delivered on that day was Psalm 90, verses l-4 and 12-17, by decree of the Bishop of Iceland. This text inspired the anthem which the Rev. Matthías Jochumsson (1835-1920), one of Iceland's most loved poets of all time, wrote while he was in Britain in the winter 1873-74. The tune was composed by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson (1847-1926), the first Icelander to make a career out of music. For most of his working life Sveinbjörnsson lived in Edinburgh, where he wrote the music to Jochumsson's hymn.