Prefix: | Provincial |
Country: | (National anthem 1907 - 1949) |
Author: | Sir Cavendish Boyle |
Lyrics Date: | January 1902 |
Composer: | Sir Hubert Parry |
Adopted: | Originally adopted 1904, relinquished 1949, re-adopted 1980 |
Sound: | Odetonewfoundland.ogg |
Sound Title: | Vocal rendition |
"Ode to Newfoundland" is the official provincial anthem of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Originally composed by Governor Sir Cavendish Boyle in 1902[1] as a four-verse poem titled Newfoundland; it was sung by Frances Daisy Foster at the Casino Theatre of St. John's during the closing of the play Mamzelle on December 22, 1902. The original score was set to the music of E. R. Krippner, a German bandmaster living in St. John's but Boyle desired a more dignified score. It was then set to the music of British composer Sir Hubert Parry, a personal friend of Boyle, who composed two settings.
On May 20, 1904, the Ode was chosen as Newfoundland's official national anthem. This distinction was dropped when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. Three decades later, in 1980, the province re-adopted the song as an official provincial anthem, the first province to do so. The Ode is still sung at public events to this day as a tradition. Typically, only the first and last verses are sung.