The Song of the Germans (Deutschlandlied)

The Song of the Germans (Deutschlandlied) is a multichannel sound installation in which Emeka Ogboh revoices Germany’s national anthem through migration, language, and the human voice. The work features African immigrants to Germany singing the Deutschlandlied in their mother tongues, including Igbo, Yoruba, Bamoun, Moré, Twi, Ewondo, Kikongo, Lingala, and others. Each voice is played through an individual loudspeaker positioned at the singer’s height, allowing listeners to encounter each participant as a distinct presence within a collective polyphony.

The anthem is carefully adapted to the tonal, rhythmic, and phonetic structures of each language while preserving its original melody. A custom software system determines which voice initiates the song and how others enter, overlap, and recede, ensuring that no two iterations unfold in the same way and that no single voice assumes dominance.

Originally commissioned for the Venice Biennale in 2015, the work emerged amid intensified debates around migration, belonging, and national identity in Europe. By rearticulating the anthem through voices often excluded from the national narrative, Ogboh transforms a symbol of unity into an acoustic space of dialogue, negotiation, and shared presence.