Marcha Real

Spain has a special song.

It is very old. The song has no words to sing. It is just music.

Many songs have words to sing. This song is one of only four in the world with no words.

People have tried to write words for it. They held contests to find the best ones. But the song stayed as just music.

People play the song at big events. They play it for the King. They also play it at sports games.

It can sound like a big band. It can even sound like an organ. It is a very famous tune.

Spain has a very special national anthem. It is called the Marcha Real. This song is one of only four in the world without official lyrics. This means there are no official words to sing along to.

The music is very old. A man named Manuel de Espinosa wrote it. It was first printed in a book in 1761. Some people once thought a leader from Prussia wrote it. But that was just a mistake. In 1770, King Charles III made it an official march.

People have tried to add words many times. They even held big contests to find the best lyrics. One contest had thousands of entries! But the song stayed as just music.

The music sounds different depending on how it is played. There are versions for a big orchestra. There are also versions for a military band or an organ. A shorter version is played at sports games. The full version is played to honor the King. It is a famous tune that brings people together.

The Marcha Real is the national anthem of Spain. It is a very special piece of music because it has no official lyrics. This makes it one of only four national anthems in the world without words to sing.

While many people have written words for it in the past, none of them became the official version. This means that when the music plays, people listen to the melody instead of singing along. It is a song that represents the country through sound alone.

There are different ways to play this music depending on the event. The current official version was written by maestro Francisco Grau. It is written in the key of B-flat major with a steady tempo.

The music follows an AABB form, which means it has two repeating sections. The full version is used to honor the King of Spain. However, a shorter version is played for the Princess of Asturias or during sporting events. There are even different arrangements for a big orchestra, a military band, or an organ.

The history of this music is very long and full of interesting stories. It is one of the oldest anthems in the world. A document from 1761 shows it was first printed in a book about military music.

This book says that Manuel de Espinosa de los Monteros was the composer. For a long time, some people believed a Prussian leader named Frederick II wrote it. This was actually a mistake that started in a magazine in 1861. In 1770, King Charles III made it the official Honor March for public use.

Many people have tried to find the perfect words for the song. In 1870, General Juan Prim even held a contest to find a new anthem. Over 400 people sent in their music, but the jury decided the old music was already the official anthem.

Later, in 2007, a new contest was held to find lyrics. One winner was a poet named Enrique Hernández-Luike, who wrote about peace and freedom. Another contest saw thousands of entries, but those lyrics were also pulled after a few days. Because of these many attempts, the anthem remains a song without official words.

Understanding the Marcha Real helps us see how music can belong to a whole nation. Even without words, the music carries a lot of meaning for the people of Spain. The government even bought the rights to the music in 1997 to make sure it stayed official.

Today, you can hear it played by the Spanish National Orchestra or the Royal Guard Band. It is a melody that connects the past to the present. Whether played at a big stadium or a royal ceremony, it is a famous sound.

The Marcha Real, officially known as the Marcha Real Española, is the national anthem of Spain. It holds a very rare place in global culture. It is one of only four national anthems in the world that has no official lyrics. This puts it in a small group alongside the anthems of Bosnia and Herzegovina, San Marino, and Kosovo. While many people have written words for the music over the centuries, none have ever been made official. This means the anthem is defined by its melody rather than by any specific text.

The current official musical version follows a specific structure and set of rules. According to Royal Decree 1560/1997, the music is written in the key of B-flat major. It moves at a tempo of 76 beats per minute (♩=76). The piece uses an AABB form, which means it consists of two sections that repeat. The melody is a sixteen-bar long phrase divided into these two sections. There are different lengths of the anthem depending on the occasion. The long, complete version serves as the honors music for the King. A shorter version without the repetitions is used for the Princess of Asturias, the President of the Government, or during sporting events.

There are also several official arrangements for the music to suit different settings. The government has requested three specific versions: one for an orchestra, one for a military band, and one for an organ. Including the different lengths, there are six official adaptations in total. These versions were recorded by the Spanish National Orchestra and the Spanish Royal Guard Band. The current symphonic version was written by the maestro Francisco Grau. This version replaced the earlier orchestration by Bartolomé Pérez Casas. The Kingdom of Spain purchased the author rights from the Pérez Casas estate in 1997.

The history of the Marcha Real is quite ancient. It is one of the oldest national anthems in existence. The first printed record of the music appears in a 1761 document. This book was titled "Book of the Ordinance of Newly Played Military Fife and Drum Calls by The Spanish Infantry." The document credits Manuel de Espinosa de los Monteros as the composer. For a long time, a myth existed that Frederick II of Prussia wrote the anthem. This mistake began in an 1861 periodical called "Military Spain." Later, in 1864, Colonel Antonio Vallecillo claimed the anthem was a gift from Frederick II to the Count of Colomera. This story was published in several places between 1868 and 1908.

Formalizing the anthem took many steps over several decades. In 1770, King Charles III declared the music the official Honor March. This made it a tradition to play the music on solemn occasions. During the reign of Isabel II, it became the official Spanish anthem. In 1870, General Juan Prim organized a national contest to find a new state anthem. Over 400 compositions were submitted by many people. These included works by composers like Federico Chueca, Ruperto Chapí, and Tomás Bretón. However, the jury decided that the Marcha Real was already the official anthem. Consequently, the contest was suspended.

Because the copyright for the Pérez Casas harmonization had not expired, the government took action. In 1997, the government spent 130 million pesetas, which is about 781,315.734 euros, to buy the rights. They did this to avoid future legal problems. Even though the rights to the Francisco Grau revision were transferred to the government for free, they are not in the public domain. This has led to some criticism regarding copyright fees. Because of this, many performers have created their own different harmonizations to avoid paying fees.

Attempts to add lyrics to the anthem have happened many times, but they often face challenges. In 2007, the President of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Alejandro Blanco, expressed interest in finding lyrics. This was inspired by seeing people sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" at an Anfield football match. A contest organized by Telecinco resulted in lyrics by Enrique Hernández-Luike. These words spoke of freedom, peace, and the Constitution. Later, another competition produced entries from between 2,000 and 7,000 people. A set of lyrics by Paulino Cubero was chosen, but they were pulled only five days later. The idea of adding official lyrics has since been scrapped indefinitely.