Jean Antoine Zinnen (25 April 1827 – 16 May 1898) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

ian composer, best known for the Luxembourgish

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

, ''

Ons Hémécht "" (formerly ""; , ) is the national anthem of Luxembourg. Written by Michel Lentz in 1859 and set to music by Jean Antoine Zinnen in 1864, it is performed at national celebrations, while the royal anthem, or, more accurately, the grand ducal an ...

''."Zinnen, Jean-Antoine (Johann-Anton)", Luxemburger Lexikon, Editions Guy Binsfeld, Luxembourg, 2006.

Career

Zinnen was born in

Neuerburg Neuerburg ( lb, Neierbuerg) is a city in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Eifel, near the border with Luxembourg, approx. 20 km north-west of Bitburg and 20 km north-east of Dieki ...

, in the Prussian

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

, close to the border with Luxembourg. When he was six, his family moved to Luxembourg. After serving as a musician in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, he

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

as a Luxembourg citizen in 1849. In 1851, he became the first director of the Diekirch choral society ''Sangerbond''."Jean Antoine Zinnen"
, ''Personnages Luxembourgeois''. Retrieved 7 January 2011. (1827–1898) In 1852, he was appointed

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...

's director of music, and, soon after, director of the city conservatoire. In 1863, he was appointed the director of the newly founded ''Allgemeiner Luxemburger Musikverein'' (ALM) which, in 1947, was renamed ''

Union Grand-Duc Adolphe The Union Grand-Duc Adolphe is the umbrella organization for music interests in Luxembourg, representing choral societies, brass bands, music schools, theatrical societies, folklore associations and instrumental groups. Covering some 340 societies, ...

'', the national umbrella organisation for music societies, bands, choirs and orchestras."Union Grand-Duc Adolphe: Verbandsgeschichte"
, ''Ugla.lu''. Retrieved 8 January 2011.

''Ons Hémecht''

The following year, at the first celebration of the ALM in Ettlebrück, ''Ons Hémecht'' was sung by a choir. Michel Lentz, the national poet who was a member of the ALM's central committee, had written the words, wishing to convey a powerful feeling of patriotism. Zinnen set the poem to music, later transforming it into a solemn hymn. On 25 June 1865, on the occasion of a music festival in Vianden, ''Ons Hémecht'' was performed for the first time with an instrumental accompaniment. ''Ons Heemecht'' was adopted as Luxembourg's national anthem in 1895. Jean-Antoine Zinnen died in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, at the age of 71, and was buried in

Limpertsberg Limpertsberg ( lb, Lampertsbierg) is a quarter in north-western Luxembourg City, in the centre of Luxembourg. In the south, on the border with the main city is the Glacis, a large open air parking lot which hosts the annual Schueberfouer fair, ...

, Luxembourg City. Two years after his death, a monument was constructed at the churchyard in which he is buried, paid for by private donations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zinnen, Jean Antoine 1827 births 1898 deaths German emigrants to Luxembourg Luxembourgian composers Luxembourgian soldiers National anthem writers Naturalised citizens of Luxembourg People from Bitburg-Prüm People from the Rhine Province