Hymn to the United Nations

[1][2] Thant first approached Casals, who was a personal friend, looking to create a hymn to peace and hoping for the song to be based on the preamble of the Charter of the United Nations.

Thant later commissioned Auden to write the poem after Casals requested one to set to music.

The finished work, scored for chorus and orchestra, takes approximately seven minutes to play.

[3][4] Eagerly, musician, Sweep your string, So we may sing, Elated, optative, Our several voices Interblending, Playfully contending, Not interfering But co-inhering, For all within The cincture of the sound, Is holy ground Where all are brothers, None faceless others.

So may the story Of our human city Presently move Like music, when Begotten notes New notes beget Making the flowing Of time a growing Till what it could be, At last it is, Where even sadness Is a form of gladness, Where fate is freedom, Grace and surprise.