National Anthem of SWITZERLAND, arr. Andrey Shilov
The Swiss Psalm (German: Schweizerpsalm, French: Cantique suisse, Italian: Salmo svizzero, Latin: Psalm svizzer) is the national anthem of Switzerland. It was written by Alberic Zwissig (17 November 1808 – 18 November 1854) in 1841 after receiving a letter from Leonard Widmer, a poet, musician and journalist from Zurich, with the text of a patriotic song he wanted to set to music. Zwissig decided to use the music he had written for a church psalm called "Diligam te Domine". He finished writing music on November 22, 1841. On the same day, he performed it for four of his friends. The anthem was often performed at various patriotic events, but the Federal Assembly did not approve it as the national anthem, citing the fact that the citizens themselves should decide which piece to use as the national anthem. Finally, after many cantonal referenda, on April 1, 1981, the "Swiss Psalm" was officially declared the national anthem of Switzerland. Since the country has 4 official state languages, the text of the anthem has been translated into French, Italian and Romansh languages, in addition to German. It should be noted that the "Swiss Psalm" has been de facto used as the national anthem since 1961. Until then, the official anthem was "Rufst Du mein Vaterland", which was written by Johann Rudolf Wies to the tune of "God Save the Queen".