National Anthem of Rhodesia (1974 1979) : Rise, O Voices of Rhodesia
English Rise, O Voices of Rhodesia (or Voices of Rhodesia ) was the national anthem of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in April 1980) between 1974 and 1979. The tune was that of Ode to Joy, the Fourth Movement from Ludwig van Beethoven s Ninth Symphony, which had been adopted as the official European continental anthem by the Council of Europe in 1972 (it remains the European Union s anthem today). The music used in Rhodesia was an original sixteenbar arrangement by Captain Ken MacDonald, the bandmaster of the Rhodesian African Rifles. A national competition was organised by the government to find an appropriate set of lyrics to match the chosen tune, and won by Mary Bloom of Gwelo. In the fallout fromRhodesia s Unilateral Declaration of Independencefrom theUnited Kingdomon 11 November 1965, the country still claimed loyalty toQueen Elizabeth IIas its professedhead of state, and so retained God Save the Queen as
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