Anthem abuse

National Review, Oct 13, 1997 by Balint Vazsonyi

ANYONE who suggests that national identity is a crucial component in the life of nations is likely these days to run into resistance. In our age of imprecise word usage, people confuse a healthy appreciation for national character with aggressive nationalism. But national character (or identity) has many virtues, and it can be manifested in many ways. Among these, one of the most important is a countrys national anthem.

These vary in musical quality, from Joseph Haydns incomparable gift to the Austrian people, to the mind-boggling triteness of Italys anthem. Yet all anthems do the job of representing their respective countries. Frequently played and sung, the tune becomes imprinted on the souls of children who hear it. They learn to associate their national song with their homeland.

To be recognizable, a piece of single-line music, such as a national anthem, requires two elements: melody and rhythm. Melody is a succession of pitches, rhythm is a succession of time values. A note can be higher or lower, longer or shorter. If it has a different pitch or a different length, its a different note altogether. Consequently, if you change the pitches and the durations of notes of an anthem it becomes a different piece of music.

All this needs to be repeated, given what has become a widespread practice, namely the performance of various primordial-sounding chants meant to resemble our national anthem but doing so only vaguely. The text is "The Star-Spangled Banner, but the music is improvised. I dont know who started the practice, but it occurs at sporting events, inaugurations, banquets celebrations of all kinds. It is highly irritating.

In strict musical terms, on the international scale of anthems, ours probably ranks as a Class B piece. In emotional and symbolic terms, it is much more important than that. Not only is it part of our identity as Americans, it is also the song to whose tune the world has been saved time and time again throughout this century. Like the flag it celebrates, it ought to make us turn inward and contemplate everything America means to us.

Instead it makes us cringe. We are treated, predominantly by female singers, to a kind of musical stream of consciousness, and to the belting out of assorted high notes, apparently chosen at random. Even the text is distorted, as by Olivia Newton-John, with her "na-ha-haite (in place of "night) or "ho-ho-home. Worse yet is the utter disregard for time. Every note takes as long as the performer decides on the spot. What emerges is something you would hear from a person inebriated to the point where her drivers license might be suspended for good. If the original is Class B, the renditions we get today are musical nonsense. These performances add nothing; they only take away, diminishing the role of the anthem as a symbol of our national identity.

That is why I have formed the strong suspicion that the prevalence of anthem abuse has as much to do with politics as it does with music. Surely these never-twice-the-same anthems meet with the approval of those who advocate "diversity in language, culture, lifestyle, and morality. In the opinion of such Americans, the very idea of national identity is to be opposed and suppressed.

As for singers who wish to display their vocal range, or the reserve capacity of their lungs, they can choose from thousands of vehicles in the literature of opera and song. Improvisation has always been highly valued in the realm of music, but not as a replacement for the original.

Look at it this way. On an American flag, it is not a discretionary decision whether to depict 50 or 69 stars. It is not acceptable, just because the manufacturer feels like it, to substitute 8 blue and green squares for the requisite 13 red and white stripes. When singers are hired for ceremonial functions, they should be hired on the condition that the singing of the anthem be the singing of the anthem. Perhaps someday the National Endowment for the Arts will commission an all-new multicultural anthem. Until then, let us stick with "The Star-Spangled Banner.