God Bless Our Native Land/Come Thou Almighty King by Felice Giardini

This music was written by the 18th Century Italian composer Felice Giardini (1716-1796) sometimes listed as Felice de Giardini. However the hymn is known by several different names. In British hymnals the tune is called "Moscow" (since Giardini died in Moscow) and is often used to sing a patriotic hymn written by William Edward Hickson (1803-1870) starting "God Bless Our Native Land", or alternatively the hymn "Thou Whose Almighty Word" with lyrics by John Mariott. You might notice that the melody is similar to the British National Anthem God Save The Queen since it has the same metre "664 6664", and in fact Hickson made some amendments to the lyrics of "God Save the Queen". In U.S. hymnals a variant of this tune is called "The Italian Hymn" and is sung to the words "Come, Thou Almighty King" (or sometimes "Christ for the World we Sing"). The U.S. Patriotic Song called "America" or "My Country 'Tis of Thee" is also sung to the tune of "God Save The Queen" so all these songs and melodies are interchangeable.

This arrangement is for piano and can be played on its own, or used to accompany singers and other instruments. You can download the PDF sheet music, or midi and mp3 files using the links on the left hand menu. Patriotic Songs of different countries can be found in our article National Anthems and Patriotic Songs, and we have another article about Church Music and Hymns.