Lauriger Horatius

'Maryland My Maryland' was made the official state song of Maryland in 1939. Taken from the poem, 'Maryland, My Maryland', by James Ryder Randall in 1861, it was set to music by Jennie Cary who borrowed the melody from 'Lauriger Horatius', a German student song traced to sometime after 1780 that had made its way across the ocean to appear in the Yale College Song Book of 1858. Some place the possible origin of 'Lauriger Horatius' w the Archpoet (or Archpoeta) living circa 1130-65. John Addington Symonds published a translation in 1884 in his book, 'Wine, Women, and Song'. 'Maryland My Maryland' and 'Lauriger Horatius' share the same melody as 'O Tannenbaum' ('O Christmas Tree'). James Davis comments in the book, 'Maryland, My Maryland', that variations of 'O Tannenbaum' are traceable in text to the 16th century. Hymns and Carols has text and music first published in 1799, melody possibly borrowed from 'Lauriger Horatius'. Versions were published by August Zarnack in 1819 or '20 and Ernst Anschütz in 1824.

'Lauriger Horatius' ('Laurel-Crowned Horace') in Latin   Nothing known about this recording

Composition: Text possibly by Archpoet set to anonymous German student melody

'O Tannenbaum'   Mormon Tabernacle Choir   1980

Composition: Anonymous German student melody set to anonymous text

'O Tannenbaum'   Mormon Tabernacle Choir   1993

Composition: Anonymous text fit w anonymous German student melody

'O Tannenbaum'   Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles   Dec 2014

Composition: Anonymous text fit w anonymous German student melody

'Maryland, My Maryland'   'Lauriger Horatius' at 1:30   Bunk Johnson   1945

'Maryland, My Maryland' ('Lauriger Horatius')   Coleman Hawkins   1958

'Maryland, My Maryland'   'Lauriger Horatius' at 1:25   Kenneth Colyer in London   August 1960