Bernhard Zweers

To My Country

The Hymn To My Country is the trio part of the second movement, entitled 'In the Country', from the third Symphony To My Country (1886 - 1890) by the Dutch composer Bernard Zweers (1854 - 1924). This symphony was written at a time when a lot of composers were largely inspired by patriotic feelings. The compositions of Zweers have apparently been influenced by his contemporaries such as Antonin Dvor k, Jean Sibelius (Finlandia), Bedrich Smetana (who also wrote a work entitled 'My Country' (Ma Vlast) - a cycle of symphonic poems including the famous Moldau) and Edvard Grieg. Although his father, a music dealer and amateur musician, at first described his son's musical activities as'a waste of paper and time', Zweers did not abandon his vocation. When the 27-year-old Bernard Zweers conducted his first symphony in 1881, his father was so impressed that he allowed his son to devote himself completely to music. Thre arrangement of this chorale was written on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands on May 5th, 1995, and is dedicated 'To My Country'.