Concert Choir: I Vow to Thee My Country

[@derekmcmanus8615]

My late mother's favourite song

[@pollybear0624]

Absolutely beautiful

[@user-dy2km5mv5t]

Needs to be the UK national anthem

[@colinkent3704]

yes yes yes

[@suchiemate6525]

No not at all… it Is a beautiful hymn that belongs to every nation on earth . The second verse talks about Heaven. We love it here in India too. 🇮🇳. But feel very happy to hear the UK play it with such feeling and pathos. God bless you all abundantly always 🇬🇧🇮🇳

[@user-dy2km5mv5t]

@@suchiemate6525 I know it's a beautiful poem set to famous music and I'm glad it's loved by the rest of the world. It's so British and written by two famous English men, I can only think of this wonderful piece of music as British.

[@oldedwardian1778]

What a WONDERFUL performance, brought tears to my eyes. I am a Brit who has lived in the USA for 50 years, this could have been my school, a King Edward VI Grammar School, founded in 1430, granted Royal Charter in 1552 by Edward the VI, the only son of Henry VIII. The one exception though is the presence of girls, in my day my school was BOYS ONLY, upon reflection how sad. The school uniforms are fabulous, I have had parents in the US say that to have a mandatory uniform was not a good thing as it infringed on the freedom of choice of the students. My response to such IDIOCY is unprintable. We were IMMENSELY proud of our uniforms and the students here LOOK TERRIFIC, WELL DONE to all concerned. Some people in Britain say that in the event that Britain becomes a Republic, GOD FORBID, that there are two, NO THREE World Class Anthems just waiting. The other two are Elgar’s immortal Land of Hope and Glory and of course Sir Hubert Parry’s Jerusalem with words by William Blake. It would be beyond the ability of me, a mere mortal, to make the choice. Once again a beautiful performance, perhaps this choir could perform the other two anthems, I would love to hear them.

[@markherron1407]

Happy Birthday to Gustav Holst REST IN POWER Blessings and Hugs 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[@Ancillainvisibilium]

Beautiful 💗 congratulations

[@plume3841]

j'adore cette hymne ca donne des frissons

[@lordrobert12]

God bless our mother country!! Rest In Peace Lady Thatcher!!❤️❤️❤️🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@IanMcCormick]

Lyrics I vow to thee my country, all earthly things above, Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love. The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test, That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best. The love that never falters, the love that pays the price, The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice. And there's another country I've heard of long ago, Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know. We may not count her armies, we may not see her king, Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering. And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase, And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.

[@christiebarba9808]

Excellent performance! i love United Kingdom

[@sylvyrfysh]

The lyrics are based on a poem written by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, after he lost his son on the Western Front in World War 1. The music is 'Jupiter' by Gustav Holst, from his suite 'The Planets'.

[@sexysteth1959]

Incredible, proud to be british

[@George_1Cross]

+LORD SAVE OUR QUEEN.+

[@alandavis1188]

Beautiful. Thankyou.

[@daveenyart]

Kudos to the kids.....outstanding. I've had a few middle school bands perform this tune. Sure....middle schoolers may not be able to give the piece its due....but many of those kids have told me over the years that it was one of the most important pieces they have ever played. It's all about memories.

[@willnotallow1]

Oh this takes me back to Spenny school. brought a tear to eye back then and still does to thisd day

[@roynevison8750]

PERFECT

[@wsmith4906]

So beautiful! So sad to see such a beautiful culture and country be destroyed by runaway invasion of Muslims, many of them virulently hostile to the indigenous Britons. We live in interesting times.

[@colinadams5390]

Very moving!

[@ricardodibartolomeo6374]

😍😍😍😍

[@michaelloglio3365]

Listen to the words of the 2nd Chorus...'And there's another Country I've heard of long ago, etc......Cecil had in mind Heaven if you are Christian or it could be called by any name...the Spirit Domain .....for those with any religious or good intentioned affiliation ! So to me it seems to have a kind of universal appeal and application !

[@jessicaliley6292]

Excellent performance! Certainly the most beautiful I've ever heard :) I have to say I'm a little confused, though, as to why a seemingly American choir is singing one of the British national anthems?

[@alexluu1018]

"I Vow to Thee My Country" is not one of the national "anthems". Rather, it's a patriotic tune.

[@ericmesser1]

Why not? Great music is great music and should be shared.....🙂

[@oldedwardian1778]

Alex Luu Actually it is a patriotic HYMN, it is in the Hymnal of the Church of England and is sung in church with great gusto. This and Sir Hubert Parry’s Jerusalem are some of the most beloved hymns of the Church of England.

[@odalrich]

Jessica Liley "... ... ... ... ... as to why a seemingly American choir is singing one of the British national anthems?" After the British defeat in the American war of independence, the Americans have every single right to use part of the British cultural heritage as a right of conquest, ha ha ha.

[@oldedwardian1778]

Eric Messer WELLSAID.

[@SharanGarlapati-yh4bt]

“Bonnie Kidd”? 🤨

[@leolai1565]

Alyssa Liley -- I am unaffiliated with this group, but I also find this to be a good performance. I am actually planning to perform this piece with my (American) choir as well, and I am going to assume they chose this piece because the music is beautiful and has the power to impact others like you and me. :)

[@kaywilliams826]

If it is a choir why isn't there 2 or 3 part harmony? Unison is kind of boring unless they are younger kids!

[@bruce8429]

I wonder why this controversial melody is played in the US where William Penn escaped to be free of Royal Tyranny. Under the divine right of Kings one died for his King (who stood in for God). One swears to the death for the King. It is a patriotic song but should NOT be presented as a hymn where God does not equal country. We have separation of church and state here for precisely that reason.

[@peterd788]

What's controversial? The song goes out of its way to mention neither God nor country. It's a universal song about love of country.

[@oldedwardian1778]

I have just noticed that although this is a wonderful performance THE WORDS HAVE BEEN ALTERED AND GOD IS MENTIONED. There is a performance of this work that you can watch her on KZbin which is a recording of the annual memorial service commemorating those who died in all British wars. The service is held at the Albert Hall and attended by THE QUEEN. The words are shown on the screen as they are sung, THERE IS NO MENTION OF ANY GOD. WHY MUST THIS PERFORMANCE BE CHANGED TO INTRODUCE A FAKE GOD THAT IS NOT IN THE ORIGINAL LYRICS. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE PEOPLE WHO CARRIED OUT THIS TRAVESTY. I am not blaming the children they are wonderful, BUT SOME ONE DECIDED THAT GOD COULD NOT BE LEFT OUT OF THIS MAGNIFICENT WORK. That is DISGUSTING AND AN APOLOGY IS DUE.

[@strengthviaunity]

The origins of this song lie in a poem originally written by Sir Cecil Spring Rice, titled "Urbs Dei"... or, "The City of God". These are the lyrics of the song's second stanza: And there's another country, I've heard of long ago, Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know; We may not count her armies, we may not see her King; Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering; And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase, And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace. What is this other country? Do tell.

[@oldedwardian1778]

@@strengthviaunity That’s a very good question, obviously it is NOT HEAVEN. Is that what you are implying? I am BRITISH educated in England, attended a church service every morning and I know this hymn very well. At NO time did it ever occur to us that these lines referred to a Heaven, we assumed that it was England, although I must admit that the words are confusing and contradictory. I have never heard of Heaven referred to as a COUNTRY. The rest of the lines can easily be construed to refer to England. So I am confused by your question, as far as I am concerned the country that is referred to is England. I am not a believer in gods or any kind but I remember the services that we attended with great fondness, communal singing is one of life’s great pleasures. I still remember the words to MANY of the Hymns we sang even 60 years later, at the time I was always puzzled by the words which MANY TIMES MADE NO SENSE. I and many of my fellow students just assumed that the writer had to make the words fit the music which accounted for their lack of CLARITY. So my answer is ENGLAND, there was no need for you to translate the title I spent several years being taught Latin by Latin scholars from Oxford, NOT Catholic priests, PRIESTS, Ugh, I shudder at the thought. So I stand by my original statement

[@strengthviaunity]

@@oldedwardian1778 Mate, the first stanza refers to Britain, the second to Heaven - you don’t need to be a genius to read between the lines here, if you even want to call it such. The meaning seems rather obvious. What King is unseen, what armies are uncounted, other than those of a world apart from ours?

[@bruce8429]

It is swearing loyalty to the sovereign. Despite it mentioning God, many regard it as not Godly in that one swears loyalty to death. Divine right of Kings argument here. Certainly not appropriate for America as a hymn. A social studies song.

[@bruce8429]

The British definitely don't have separation of church and State, sometimes to the point of almost disgusting. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZi3p4Z3gtVne8U Discuss why America exists...See Wiliiam Penn. Great student discussion project on freedom of religion in America. Also see: religious wars in English history.

[@peterd788]

Neither God nor country is mentioned in the song.

[@stevecreaton3453]

This is an English anthem. Unless you are British please do t sing it. It's rude

[@stevecreaton3453]

Unless you mean what you are singing you shouldn't sing it. You don't vow your allegiance to Britain . Sing your own songs

[@YeOldMug]

It's not an anthem but a patriotic song. Favoured by Winston Churchill in fact.

[@micheal49]

Well, in that case, count me as ruder than rude. It is only an "English anthem" in the sense that it was originally written by Brits. Or do you think Americans should not sing anything written in any other country than the U.S.? Or do you mean to insist that we should sing nothing by R. Vaughan-Williams? Either way, please back up ten yards and punt.

[@bobwang5922]

Steve Creaton how is that different than Brits singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

[@micheal49]

What's wrong with that?

[@annirvin6555]

❤️