Finlandia hymn

After the success of the full-length symphonic poem (most of which consists of rousing and turbulent passages, evoking the national struggle of the Finnish people), Sibelius published a stand-alone version of the hymn as the last of twelve numbers in his Masonic Ritual Music, Op. 113, with a text by opera singer Wäinö Sola. The version usually heard today has lyrics written by Koskenniemi in 1940 and was first performed in 1941. Sibelius himself arranged the hymn for choral performances. Today, during modern performances of Finlandia in its entirety, a choir is sometimes involved, singing the Finnish lyrics with the hymn section. The Finlandia hymn is often proposed as an official national song or anthem of Finland. ==English language uses==

In 1934, Lloyd Stone wrote "This is my song", to the Finlandia tune, as an international song of peace. An expanded version with Christian themes by a later author appears in many hymnals. Conductor Leopold Stokowski proposed using the melody for a worldwide anthem. and "We rest on Thee, our shield and our defender". "Be still, my soul" The Christian hymn "Be still, my soul", written in German ("Stille mein Wille, dein Jesus hilft siegen") in 1752 by the Lutheran hymnwriter Catharina von Schlegel (1697–1777) and translated into English in 1855 by Jane Laurie Borthwick (1813–1897), is usually sung to this tune. It begins: "We rest on Thee" The hymn "We rest on Thee", written by Edith G. Cherry around 1895, is also commonly sung to the tune. Its first verse is: ==Other language uses==

by John Eifion and Côr Penyberth The popular Welsh language hymn Gweddi dros Gymru ("A prayer for Wales") also known by its incipit ''Dros Gymru'n gwlad'', was written by Baptist pastor and Welsh nationalist politician, Lewis Valentine (1893–1986). The hymn was also popularly sung by singer and politician Dafydd Iwan in 1986. The tune was also adopted for Biafra's national anthem, Land of the Rising Sun, during its attempted secession from Nigeria in the late 1960s. On a smaller scale it also serves as the tune for the songs of various colleges and schools. ==References==