🎵 The US National Anthem played on UK's most EPIC Cathedral Organ | Gloucester Cathedral

Happy Thanksgiving Day to my American listeners!
Here is The Star Spangled Banner played on the Organ of Gloucester Cathedral.
John Smith (the composer of the tune) knew Gloucester Cathedral very well and it was possible that he was chorister at this place and new these walls and acoustic!
I hope you enjoy!
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[@tambrosia]

Thank you from a Yank You did our National Anthem proud. THANK YOU and GOD BLESS the peoples of the UK and Commonwealth Pax+

[@johnyoder8376]

Thanks from the bottom of every American heart. May Freedom RING.

[@patarmstrong4676]

Bravo Sir! Outstanding interpretation by one of our most esteemed British cousins. Thank you for playing this and doing it so beautifully.

[@MarkM58]

As a US Navy veteran, that brought tears to my eyes and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Thank you.

[@bradykillman5584]

im not a vetrean but i got tears in my eyes to that was beautiful and thank you for your service

[@miguelchavez8347]

Even though I'm not a fan of us, but still, sir, thank you and God bless you an the united states.

[@TheArtfulRhino]

Thank you for your service

[@JamesJones-fs8eg]

God bless America Love from UK 🇬🇧🤝🇺🇸

[@JCF072344]

I heard this played and sung in Rochester Cathedral at the memorial service for 9/11. As an American it brought tears.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The Star Spangled Banner (same tune as the British Drinking Song but Different words) actually sounds amazing on this Organ because it has a Special sound.

[@SoggySandwich80]

The British Play our anthem better than we do….. wow

[@YogsenForfoth]

Because they wrote it, genius. 😂

[@Overkill2008]

They did write it

[@jmnero4447]

Plus, they stick to the original music instead of our crazy American pop singers who want to put "their own spin" on it. If in doubt, go back to the source material. :)

[@CenKYWX]

@@YogsenForfoththey didn’t. I believe Francis Scott Key, who was born in Maryland in 1779, wrote it while watching British bombardment at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. I THINK

[@YogsenForfoth]

@@CenKYWX Key only provided the lyrics. The music was written by British composer and early musicologist John Stafford Smith around 1773, but remained lyric-less until 1814, when American lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key set his poem 'Defence of Fort M'Henry' to the music.

[@TenbearsRunning]

USCG Veteran 1965-1969 and still stand proud when I hear this Anthem, thank you for sharing / Retired L.E.O.

[@kimfleury]

As a US native-born citizen, I must say this is the best version I've ever heard, and I grew up attending lots of sporting events, so that's saying something.

[@gcd313]

Wow, the organ makes our anthem sound great! Then again, the organ will do that to any anthem. Still, this is the greatest rendition I have ever heard.

[@deaganjones4666]

Great job, Richard! As an American I can say you did it justice. The organ is incredible, too!

[@martym61]

Wonderful to hear the anthem played on this great organ. 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲

[@musiclover148]

Compare this to the intolerable renditions we have to endure at the start of most American sporting events - self-indulgent "soul" singers and "rhythm and blues" singers, who feel compelled to recompose the song to suit themselves. They often screech like tortured cats and they go on interminably. Sing or play the song as written, at a briskish pace and get it over with - that's all we want.

[@SoggySandwich80]

Couldn’t have said it better myself

[@ruthgoebel723]

Amen!

[@saveamerica423]

amen to that. Keep all the pop and rap stars out. They disgrace our country

[@oaktadopbok665]

I think even Richard's version is played too slowly! If you've ever heard it fast, you'll like it fast. (It's really a dreadful song imo.)

[@musiclover148]

@@oaktadopbok665 🙂 True, this organ rendition is rather slow, but he's playing it on a great pipe organ in a very resonant acoustic, where it couldn't be played fast, or it would sound like a muddy mess. He wants it to sound majestic and dignified. At least he isn't wandering all around the tune and desecrating the anthem, as so many pop singers do. And BTW, it's not "O, Canada," perhaps the best national anthem, but it's NOT a bad song.

[@eyemdphd]

You nailed it Richard, that's exactly how it should sound! Thank you.

[@CaptainCook003]

If this isn’t played at my funeral, I’m not going.

[@napke8571]

10 out of 10, this was beautiful! Greetings from the Netherlands.

[@donaldwallace7934]

Absolutely stunning!!! Thank You from Iowa, USA!! 🇬🇧🇺🇸

[@janemazzola4454]

A whole year later, I have this on my BIS playlist & am listening again. THANK YOU! Sadly many in our nation today have no appreciation for the USA, so YOU, an outsider, remind us of how blest we are, even for all our "warts"! Thank you again, Richard.

[@sarahjacobsen9521]

Agreed, and this is coming from a millennial (28) that doesn't always see enough patriotism from some of my peers and a few others I've dealt with in the younger crowd.

[@janemazzola4454]

@@sarahjacobsen9521 THANK you, Sarah, for your affirmation! Bless you! :)

[@sarahjacobsen9521]

^ @janemazzola4454 Blessings for you too! I will try my best to continue to stand by America proudly. I do want to say there is some hope for us: My church is pretty patriotic, and it's great to see a lot of other similar young adults there! ^_^

[@janemazzola4454]

@@sarahjacobsen9521 Hallelujah!!🤗😍

[@clarencetupper4285]

Thank you Richard. Sharing your musical interpretation of our American Anthem on a lovely British organ is Inspiring and much appreciated.

[@barryfrazer4304]

Love it played full on throughout. No nice quiet bits. Best wishes from Northern Ireland.

[@sandrafogarty1073]

Fabulous organ...and that bass...WOW!!!! Lovely performance.

[@whoshotj]

WOW!!! I almost stood up halfway through this, one of the absolute GREATEST performances of The Star Spangled Banner that I have ever heard!

[@jamesducey2685]

This is a special sharing from across the pond. Thank you so much.

[@EmergencyGuy]

Gotta hand it to ya, Richard! My National Anthem has never sounded so regal on organ! Amazing rendition!

[@mattleach958]

Thank you Richard. Perfectly done. I'm American, of Welsh and English heritage. I love the Star Spangled Banner, just as a tune. It often gets overdone at public performances. I don't really celebrate "Bombs bursting in Air" and flag waving in general. It''s such a powerful tune in social history now. And you play with joy from the heart.

[@LaurieWilliams-lk8fc]

The music is vastly better than the text.

[@camillazapolsky8940]

As a U.S. citizen, I thank you sir. Magnificent!

[@Apriluser]

I second that!

[@ipadpuppydogdude1]

Third that

[@patrickreilly4639]

Fourth that

[@loganattaway2789]

I’m proud to serve a country with a song as beautiful as this, you brought tears to my eyes

[@christophermccluskie3059]

I've listened to this at least a hundred times now. Chills every time! 🇺🇲🇺🇲

[@alexanderweibel-valls9379]

Sounds better than any version I've heard from Washington National Cathedral !!! Loved the very regal tempo!

[@gerardvanleeuwen147]

Herhemamersfopottgergmamrsfoort

[@landonsmith6401]

Probably because it’s not a liberal chcurch

[@anickode]

You should check out some of the recordings of it from the Boardwalk Hall auditorium organ.

[@SoggySandwich80]

@@anickode only like half of That organ works lol I’ve played it half the stops i went to were dead

[@johnruiz8758]

Love it! It's always so grand from the pipe organ! So beautiful that it could easily bring a tear.

[@TheRealAXCT]

Watching this on 9/11. Never forget.

[@greggmunson132]

This majestic rendition immediately brought tears to my eyes! Thank you for this gift on our Independence Day!

[@tracygriffith9041]

Nice Richard playing

[@jezm1703]

Such a superb rendition of this during your recital at Gloucester. I just had to say. Wonderful !

[@priscilla-pilgrimgirl7105]

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart! This day and age, in the United States of America, this piece of music is not treasured very much. The number of lives that were lost in order to form this country was tremendous, and now they just want to throw it all away. God bless the United States of America!! Long may she live! Priscilla

[@mikeguthrie5432]

A beautiful rendition of our National Anthem. Thanks to the organist for a splendid Job!

[@davidschwarz1196]

Epic, shivered me spine sonny

[@leonlinton634]

So glad to live a mere 10 minutes away from this truly remarkable cathedral, which is no doubt one of the best in Britain!

[@rzmyers1096]

Sounds awesome with the fantastic acoustic ambiance.!! 👍

[@rzmyers1096]

The words tell of the sacrifices made in securing the nation...then keeps one on their watch, by asking "is it still there.?!!".

[@TheJojo01902]

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Thank you.

[@kwesiennison9028]

As a Non American this is my best version so far. The 32ft Reed Pedals made my day

[@bombarde1701a]

As an American I think Its amazing that the National Anthem was recorded on an English organ.

[@Blaidd7542]

It was actually written in England, it’s “to Anacreon in heaven” a British drinking song from the early 1700s with the original lyrics replaced with Francis Scott keys poem “defence of fort mchenry”

[@margaretsch.3609]

That was a lovely and thoughtful Thanksgiving gift, thank you! Your awareness of different segments of your audience is moving, indeed. As is this rendition of the Star Spangled Banner! Heard as it can be heard nowhere else like that!

[@willbuchanan8205]

I found this video several months ago and instantly fell in love with the arrangement. Your emphasis on the "Flag was STILL THERE" gave me a new perspective and entirely new appreciation and love for our National Anthem. There was no way that when Francis Scott Key wrote that poem that he knew it would end up being an allegory for repeated American resilience in the face of insurmountable odds, and every one of our national struggles throughout our short history as a free and independent nation. I instantly understood that, as Americans, while we are different and we will fight, we will disagree, we will polarize, we WILL go through hard times. BUT, if we remain resilient, our Flag will still be there flying on the other side, because we have done it from the VERY BEGINNING. It is who we are. "We will go to the Moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard!" I have been listening to this on repeat all morning (morning after an extremely disappointing 2024 Election), and it reminded me of American resilience. And the fact that this was played in a BRITISH cathedral makes the message even MORE powerful. The Brits are reminding us who we are by playing a poem that was written during a WAR between us! Americans have defeated hatred and Fascism before (with help, of course), and we will do it again, by being resilient and RESIST. Freedom is not free. Democracy will never be successfully defended and preserved by complacency, we must defend it tooth and nail every step of the way. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for giving the gift that keeps on giving. May God truly bless America.

[@marccheban194]

OMG...You played the building perfectly!

[@tomlessner]

Just breathtaking! Technically there are a total of 4 verses. But thank you for the awesome registries and spirit you played with. God bless!

[@theamericancarguy]

This gets an official American seal of approval! ❤🇺🇸

[@scotthagele3254]

Very nice, thanks!

[@ipadpuppydogdude1]

Beautiful Richard! Best version yet of our great nation.

[@jerrymartin79]

This is thrilling!! There is something about national anthems in general - and as the anthem of my adopted country this is now officially my favorite rendition 🥰 THANK YOU!

[@1958Pontiac-im1fr]

I love hearing Us and Canadian anthem on a organ like this.

[@smoath]

Goosebumps

[@mariachiarab4115]

I am 100% Italian and I have always thinked that USA National Anthem maybe is the most beautiful in the world 🙌🏻

[@discoboycraft2409]

God bless our beautiful nation 🫡🇺🇸🦅🗽✝️

[@donaldhooper3064]

That was AWESOME. No words to describe how great that sounded. Don H Ocala FL USA

[@RobCharles1981]

Fantastic Richard - Enjoyed it 110% :D

[@JPBAMA]

Just awesome Richard! Thank you!

[@foxtrotwhisky4061]

Absolutely EPIC sound! PLEASE do U.K. National anthem in this style!

[@BenBrossMusic]

Bravo! This gave wings to my day!

[@DerekWitt]

Your version gives Diane Bish a run for her money. Both are excellent!

[@Zadir09]

I loved seeing the union jack right next to the stars and stripes! I love you guys over there!

[@gkissel1]

Thank you Richard.

[@-Nachtmensch-]

Man kann nur erahnen wie beeindruckend es sein muss das live mitzuerleben 🤗👍🏻🎵🎶

[@JimmyJohnJahames]

This sounds amazing

[@Towerbrian23]

Well done ❤my all time favorite tune

[@whirliebuster]

Absolutely awesome. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing this. You can feel the anthem in this video. ❤️🇺🇸💙

[@kscamm]

I love the relationship the U.K. and the USA have. I hope it will never end.

[@pablow1549]

It touched my heart, GBA!

[@4funJust4you]

Best organ ever heard in the United Kingdom. I love this organ!

[@anickode]

As far as traditional cathedral organs go, absolutely. I'm rather fond of the voicing on the Bridgewater Town Hall organ though.

[@RichardHarrold1991]

@@anickode Gloucester was a woefully inadequate instrument as a cathedral organ - a butchery of its Willis predecessor. It has now been scrapped, and good riddance. Bridgwater Hall Manchester is not English, and its Danish makers have unofficially disowned it - they were obliged to design and construct it before the hall was built, and on installation, it turned out someone had cocked up the dimensions and there wasn't room for the largest pipes, and the acoustic was nothing like what they'd been told it would be. As a result, it's an absolutely horrid screechy pile of rubbish.

[@thomasphillips5850]

Beautiful Richard, just beautiful ,thank you

[@U-tuber98]

Awesome Job, and THANK YOU from the United States!!

[@nickmaguire5104]

Fantastic!

[@MrCountryDude]

Thanks for playing our anthem from USA 🇺🇸. 🇺🇸🤝🇬🇧

[@nicolajones726]

Five times in a row😂amazing thank you!❤x

[@sousafan100]

awesome rendition of our national anthem :)

[@rosaliestacey1379]

Love it. Great sound.

[@irishenterprisesllc7414]

This gave me chills.

[@robertphelps1574]

Love Gloucester cathedral I remember when I was growing up my dad taken me around there

[@JayFlex3]

Fantastic Richard 🇺🇸

[@deemo8578]

this sounds so amazing.

[@ncalarms6022]

Wow!

[@gogetthegoose1]

Loved the reverb

[@barbarossa1234]

This is amazing.

[@Basal89]

Wooooow AMAZING PEDAL and Plenum MASS!!!

[@OrganGuyPhil]

This is stunning! 🇺🇸🎶🇺🇸

[@williamjeffrey40]

THRILLING !!

[@steedgriffin6284]

Marvelous! ❤

[@billbrown3414]

👍 (Please add the American "National Hymn" --"God of Our Fathers"-- with the same level of AWESOME!)

[@Espiel78]

Stunning! Thank you.

[@markcooke729]

Stunning! Hope we get to hear you play it on the rebuilt organ soon!

[@RichardHarrold1991]

Rebuilt? Replacement, you mean. This organ has gone in the melting pot.

[@bryaneagon3059]

Thank you for your talents.

[@keemez]

that ECHO at the end tho

[@daleniehaus4309]

Beautiful!!!!

[@matts156]

Thank you for that awesome rendition, Richard! US Navy vet here and the organ is my favorite instrument, even though it doesn't have missile launchers or guns.

[@ps86v52]

BRAVO!!! 🔥🌟🎉🎉🎉👏👏👏👏👏👏😍🇺🇲

[@StoreeDenson]

Amazing. When you come to the USA in the future please go to Riverside Church Organ where Virgil Fox was organist or St John Divine right by Riverside to play there grand organ also. Two large Aeolian Skinner Organs that are neighbors.

[@beautyinsound]

I’d love to come!

[@contrabombarde1216]

Just listened on my good headphones. Wow that 32' reed is epic.

[@RichardHarrold1991]

This organ was scrapped pretty much immediately after this recording. Almost nothing is being retained in its replacement. The metal pipework all got melted down. The reed is not being retained - it was a half-length abomination and did not work well in the building.

[@kendalljackson6022]

Such a powerful instrument made respect! 🫡

[@jhale783]

It’s so neat that the Star-Spangled Banner, representative of independence from England, is being played gloriously in England! Civility has come a long way, and I’m thankful that we now call each other friends. I love this channel, Richard’s style, and all he posts! One of my favorite British people :)

[@EVUK-bd2vn]

@@jhale783 Nobody - even Americans - seem aware that the tune/melody for the US National Anthem was stolen from a Brit composer from Gloucester, UK ! !(Wiki link) . That's why it's being played here in Gloucester Cathedral(UK). Why / So what? Because Gloucester-born(1750) organist, composer and musicologist John Stafford Smith(died:1836) composed the music that was later adopted (without permission!) as the music for the words / lyrics of the Star Spangled Banner which officially together became the US National Anthem in 1931. John Stafford Smith never visited America and of course had no idea that his inspirational musical composition would be,er, purloined, adopted, stolen unchanged (not merely plagiarized) by anthem-seeking America ninety five years after his death. See Wikipedia - John Stafford Smith: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stafford_Smith The key point is that 99.9% of Americans don't know and are unsurprisngly never told that they are oh-so patriotically singing along to a stolen (British!) song - in part to celebrate independence from Britain! The definition of glorious beautiful (British) irony!! Paul G

[@peteb1594]

This is just incredible!