Tune of the Day: National Anthem of Brazil
The melody of the Brazilian national anthem was composed by Francisco Manuel da Silva in 1822. In style, the music resembles early Romantic Italian music such as that of Gioachino Rossini. There was no statute at the time establishing a National Anthem, but the melody, without lyrics, was widely used as such during the reign of Emperor Pedro II, and was regarded as the National Anthem by all.
After the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889, the new rulers made a competition in order to choose a new anthem, and the competition was won by Leopoldo Miguez. After protests against the adoption of the proposed new anthem, however, President Deodoro da Fonseca formalized da Silva's composition as the national anthem. In fact, the President himself was said to prefer the old anthem to Miguez's composition, which became the Anthem of the Proclamation of the Republic.