WHAT makes a national anthem? A rousing tune to quicken the pulse, some pathos to moisten the eyes and that inexplicable something to make it stand out from all the rest. A surprising number are hemmed in by the musical traditions of Europe in the 19th century, when nationalism spread across the world—Uruguay’s is the best of the bunch. Too many, including “God Save the Queen”, suffer from dreary harmonies and platitudes about being victorious and glorious. The home nations of the United Kingdom have all the best tunes—just listen to Wales’s “Land of our Fathers”. Good anthems, such as Ukraine’s and Israel's, contain a tinge of sadness, because nationalism is really about longing, suffering and sacrifice. The best, like South Africa’s, Nkosi Sikelil’iAfrika, create their own world entirely. Here is our playlist, with a few unusual performances thrown in for variety.

Read the essay on nationalism, which this playlist accompanies, here.





South Africa

In a straw poll at The Economist, this was the favourite. Taken from a protest hymn, the lyrics combine Afrikaans, English, Xhosa, Zulu and Sesotho in an act of musical healing for the Rainbow nation

Russia

Could anything be more stirring than this performance belted out by the Red Army Choir? It is adapted from the old Soviet anthem—and was first used as the hymn of the Bolsheviks. Not that today's post-Bolshevik Russians seem to mind

Uruguay

This sounds more like an overture to a forgotten Rossini opera, than the hymn to a proud nation. It is a reminder of how nationalism spread out of Europe during the 19th century. For sheer exuberance, it is hard to beat

Brazil

Brazil's anthem, like Uruguay's, usually sounds as if it is a 19th-century operatic knock-off. But anthems can be re-interpreted. How about this version, taken from a series by two New Yorkers, who set out to give it the Ipanema treatment?

Ukraine

The glory and the freedom of Ukraine, they sing, have not yet died. That “yet” is full of longing, and far from unique among nations who are struggling to make their way. Heavy on the minor key, Ukraine's anthem looks to a brighter future

Japan

Its lyrics date from as early as 800AD. It is beautifully serene. And it is very short. This instrumentalversion, by a young Japanese jazz pianist and composer, is transfixing

Israel

“Hatikvah”, or hope, takes its melody from an old European folk tune also used by Bedrich Smetana, a Czech composer. The lyrics, by Naphtali Herz Imber, captured the aspirations of 19th-century Zionists dreaming of a homeland

Nepal

“Woven from hundreds of flowers, we are one garland that's Nepal.” The anthem, with its unusual, lilting 6/8 time signature, was only adopted in 2006. It is not sufficiently revolutionary for some Nepalis, but to outsiders it has originality and charm

Germany

Forget the words and the grim associations. Just listen to Haydn's music--here in his own variations for string quartet. The most perfect national hymn of them all

The United States of America

a) For sheer conviction, musicianship and that voice, Whitney Houston is unsurpassed in her version of the Star Spangled Banner. She sang this in 1991, just after the start of the first gulf war, when patriotism was running high. Remarkable

b) Hardly everyone’s cup of tea, but impossible to ignore. No anthem, ever, has had this sort of treatment and survived. But the star-spangled banner marches on

Wales

Think of the valleys. Think of Dylan Thomas and the Eisteddfod. Think of the 15 players in red jerseys preparing to smash England in a game of rugby. And listen to the voices

France

The revolutionary hymn that set citizen armies marching across Europe—there's even a children's verse, where the youngsters vow to share the coffins of their elders. Here, the chanteuse Mireille Mathieu rolls those rs for La Patrrrrie

Bonus: Zeby Polska by Jan Pietzrak

The unofficial anthem for the anti-communist Solidarity movement. The cabaret singer, Jan Pietrzrak, sings of the virgin forests and the eagles and the struggle “so that Poland would be Poland”. Has a chorus been more catchy?

Listen to the full playlist here.