"Dievs, svētī Latviju!" (Latvian pronunciation:[diɛu̯ssvɛːtiːˈlatviju]; "God Bless Latvia!") is the national anthem of Latvia. Created in 1873 as a patriotic song, it did not gain official status until 1920.
History and composition
The music and lyrics were written in 1873 by Kārlis Baumanis, a teacher who was part of the Young Latvian nationalist movement.[1] It is thought that Baumanis was inspired by a popular song "Dievs, svētī Kurzemi/Vidzemi!" ("God bless Kurzeme/Vidzeme!", which was modified depending on the region it was used in) that was sung to tune of "God Save the King". Baumanis's lyrics were different from the modern ones: he used the term "Baltics" synonymously and interchangeably with "Latvia" and "Latvians", so "Latvia" was actually mentioned only at the beginning of the first verse. Later, the term "Latvia" was removed and replaced with "Baltics" to avoid a ban on the song. This has led to the misapprehension that the term "Latvia" was not part of the song until 1920, when it was chosen as national anthem, and the word "Baltics" was replaced with "Latvia".[2][3]
The anthem's tune was modernized with a new F-major version that is used since 2014; formerly, a G-major version was used on LTV's sign-on and sign-offs daily from 2011 to 2013. However, the G-major version was still played on any occasion (especially and notably, during times of mourning). The current version played on LTV for their sign-on and sign-offs daily is in the key of B-flat major.
^"Darba apraksts". LIIS mūzikas lapas (in Latvian). Latvijas Izglītības informatizācijas sistēma. Archived from the original on 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2007-05-27.