Sonate B-Dur - Het Wilhelmus

Here is something especially for the Dutch friends on this platform (and there are a lot of them) ... Het Wilhelmus - the Dutch anthem. Admittedly, I watched the DFB women's football match against the Netherlands and was once again delighted by the beautiful, festive Dutch anthem that was played at the start of the game.

My Opus 1 contains 10 preludes and fugues on the themes of international anthems, so there are now 11 of them .......
Whether it is the oldest national anthem in the world is debatable, but ultimately a question of definition. If one defines a national anthem as a unity of melody and text, then Het Wilhelmus is probably the oldest in the world, sung from the 16th century onwards. However, it has only been the official national anthem of the Netherlands since 1932.
The oldest known print of the Dutch text to date is a copy of the Geuzenliedboek in the Göttingen State and University Library dated 1576/77.

The oldest surviving High German version can be found in a Liedflugschrift published in Strasbourg in 1573 with the title Ein schön neüw Lied/ von dem Printzen von Vranien. William of Nassawe/ I am of Teutonic blood. In the sound. How to sing the song of the Count of Rome.

When the Netherlands became a kingdom in 1815, this piece was not chosen as the national anthem because it was too strongly linked to the party that supported the House of Orange-Nassau. Instead, following a competition, Vienna Neêrlands Bloed was chosen as the national anthem. The popularity of Het Wilhelmus never waned, however, and on 10 May 1932 it was finally adopted as the national anthem.

About the piece itself:

Once again there are 3 movements: Hymn movement, trio and this time a 3-part fugue, which is extremely playful and virtuosic. In a 3-part plyphonic piece, I can really let off steam, because the more voices I add, the narrower the musical freedom.

Well, have fun now with this composition!