Icelandic National Anthem for Symphony Orchestra

Much like the United States anthem, the Icelandic national anthem was originally written for a particular occasion and it probably did not occur to either the poet or the composer that the song was destined to become a national anthem.

In Iceland, nation-wide celebrations were held throughout 1874 to mark the 1000th anniversary of the first Norse settlement of the island. (This is the “Iceland’s thousand years” that are referenced in the anthem.)