IN 1841 Alberich Zwyssig, a Swiss monk, played a new solemn tune to a handful of residents in the Swiss city of Zug. It proved a hit. As his hymn gained popularity in several of Switzerland's member states, calls grew to declare it the country’s national anthem. A century passed before it was at last officially recognised as such: it was declared the Swiss Psalm in 1981. But on January 1st 2014 the Swiss will open a competition to all nationals and residents to write a new patriotic paean. Why does Switzerland want to change its anthem?
This is not the first time that the Swiss anthem has been disputed. Since 1981 a number of Swiss parliamentarians have asked for changes. One motion was put forward in 2004 for a more modern anthem set to all national languages, while in 2006 a committee formed to change the text so that Swiss nationals of all religious and political beliefs could sing the anthem for the 2008 World Cup. (Neither idea got anywhere.) And though Zwissig’s canticle was relatively popular when it was first introduced, the Swiss were divided over whether to drop their first anthem, "Rufst du, mein Vaterland". A deadlock ensued. The new anthem was only instated as the country’s national song two decades later—possibly for want of anything better, according to the Swiss Society for the Public Interest (SSUP), which upholds Swiss values and is organising the new contest. Many Swiss still felt more patriotic towards the old anthem, written in 1811 and set to the tune of "God Save the Queen", which Britain composed in 1745. But the two tunes caused confusion at sporting events and it was ultimately deemed un-Swiss.
Rather than the tune, it is now the anthem’s lyrics, written in 1835, that are again causing uproar. They read more like an ecclesiastical chant with a weather forecast thrown in, says the SSUP. It calls on mountains, the sun and stormy skies. It is also heavily religious. That, thinks the SSUP, is at odds with modern Switzerland’s constitution (which was established in 1848, so shortly after the anthem itself was composed). And few Swiss who listen to the anthem on August 1st, the country’s national day, are able to sing along; only a minuscule proportion know the song off by heart in its entirety. Proposals in this contest must be based on the values laid out in the preface of the constitution: democracy, solidarity and acceptance of diversity. Though the contest’s rules want the current melody to be recognisable in any new suggestions, it allows some poetic liberty. Speeding up its rhythm, for example, would help the Swiss correctly place the words on the music, says the SSUP; its contest organiser suggested the current cadence has more akin to a funeral march than a rallying refrain like La Marseillaise, or the sprightly tempo of the Brazilian anthem.
A jury of 30, including yodelling experts, a slam poet, a theology professor and a rapper, will pore over the three-verse submissions. But even if they find a winner the final decision to scrap the Swiss Psalm rests with the Conseil Fédéral, Switzerland’s government. Once it is presented with the new anthem, it will either choose to consult the country’s 26 cantons (member states) or put it to parliamentary vote. There could be a referendum too. Given previous attempts to change it, the process could take at least another four to five years, says the SSUP. That leaves it time to translate the text into the country’s four official languages (French, German, Italian and Romansh) and to broadcast it repeatedly on the radio. But even then the loyalty of many Swiss is to their canton, most of which have their own cantonal songs that act as unofficial anthems. Jura, the youngest of the cantons, established one officially in 1990. Even with a new official anthem, many of the Swiss may continue to hum along to another song.
- See more at: http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/12/economist-explains-9#sthash.EcEv7yvp.dpuf
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