"The Island Hymn" is the patriotic song of the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

History

It was first conceived early in 1908 by Professor Harry Watts of the Charlottetown School of Music who, at the suggestion of Rev. Dr. Thomas Fullerton, contacted Islander author and poet

Lucy Maud Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with ''Anne of Green Gables''. She ...

asking if she would compose the hymn's lyrics, which she wrote in 1908. A stanza from the "Hymn" was performed for the first time in public on May 22 of that year at a combined school event marking both Arbor Day and Empire Day. Written to the metre of ''God Save the King'', it was sung to Lawrence W. Watson's music, which had been composed especially for her lyric at the request of Professor Watts. The full piece was not performed until school closing exercises the following June 29th, as Watts recalled, that the "Hymn" was first sung in its entirety. The manuscript music, dated October 27, 1908, and correspondence relating to it are displayed at the Green Gables Heritage Place in

Cavendish Cavendish may refer to: People * The House of Cavendish, a British aristocratic family * Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673), British poet, philosopher, and scientist * Cavendish (author) (1831–1899), pen name of Henry Jones, English au ...

. An edition for mixed-voice choir composed by Christopher Gledhill was printed by Leslie Music Supply for the Prince Edward Island 1973 Centennial Committee. "The Island Hymn" was official adopted as the provincial anthem by the

Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island (french: Assemblée législative de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard) is the sole chamber of the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The Legislative Assembly meets at Province House, which is locat ...

on May 7, 2010. The ''Provincial Anthem Act'' also includes a French version called "''L’hymne de l’Île''", which was translated by Raymond J. Arsenault of Abram-Village.InfoPEI, website of the Government of Prince Edward Island
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Lyrics

References

Regional songs Songs about islands Canadian anthems Prince Edward Island music 1908 songs {{anthem-stub

History

Lyrics

See also

References