Patrick Stanislaus Castagne MBE, (3 October 1916 – 5 May 2000) was a Guyanese-born Trinidadian composer, best known for composing "

Forged from the Love of Liberty "Forged from the Love of Liberty" is the national anthem of the Trinidad and Tobago. Originally composed as the national anthem for the short-lived West Indies Federation (1958–1962), this song was edited and adopted by Trinidad and Tobago whe ...

", the national anthem of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

Early life and education

Born to Trinidadian parents in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

, Castagne moved to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

when he was young and grew up there, attending St Mary's College. Castagne played the piano and had his own band, but gained wide recognition in the 1950s for his hosting of the pre-Carnival "Dimanche Gras" shows. In 1962, he composed the national anthem of Trinidad & Tobago. He also served as a diplomat assigned to the Trinidad & Tobago high commission in

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. While in England, he worked with the

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in airing West Indian talent on a weekly radio show.

Career

He composed the national anthem for the

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean th ...

(championed by the UK as a means for their colonies in the West Indies to attain a status similar to that achieved by Canada and Australia), which only lasted from 1958 to 1962. Trinidad and Tobago later adopted it as their own national anthem, "

", after attaining their own independence on 31 August 1962. His song "Goodnight" was for many years the theme song used as the sign on and sign-off signal by Radio Trinidad. Castagne composed several other songs and calypsoes during his career including 1960 "The Iceman" (1960, sung by calypsonian

Lord Melody Lord Melody (1926 – 26 September 1988)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', backbeat Books, , p.154-155 was a popular Trinidadian calypsonian, best known for singles such as " Boo Boo Man", "Creature From The Black Lagoon", ...

); "Kiss Me for Christmas" (sung by Kelwyn Hutcheon); "Nimble Like Kimble"; "Hyarima: A Caribbean Rhapsody"; "An Orchid for You"; "Happy Birthday Mom"; "My Easter Bunny". In 1994 he was awarded Trinidad & Tobago's

Chaconia Medal The Chaconia Medal (abbreviated C.M. or CM) is the second highest state decoration A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an Order (distinction), order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to honor the recipient. T ...

(Gold) (for Public Service and Music). In 1962 Castagne was appointed as a

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE).

Later life and death

Castagne died in 2000, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, from heart failure.

Personal life

Castagne was married to Lucille and had six children, Dianne, Alan, Glenn, Christopher, Michael and Gregory.

References

External links

Patrick Castagne Biography
at the

National Library of Trinidad and Tobago The National Library and Information System of Trinidad and Tobago (known as NALIS) is a corporate body established by the NALIS Act No. 18 of 1998 to administer the development and coordination of library and information services in Trinidad and ...

.
National Composer Dies
archived ''

Express Express, The Expresss or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * ''The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid * The Expre ...

'' article following his death.
Pat Castagne Compositions
at the online Calypso Archives. {{DEFAULTSORT:Castagne, Patrick 1916 births 2000 deaths National anthem writers Recipients of the Chaconia Medal Guyanese emigrants to Trinidad and Tobago