La Marseillaise

"La Marseillaise" (French pronunciation: ​[la maʁsɛjɛz]) is the national anthem of France.

The song was written and composed in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war from France to Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin". It was a revolutionary song, an anthem to freedom, a patriotic call to mobilize all the citizens and an exhortation to fight against the tyranny and the foreign invasion. The French National Convention adopted it as the Republic's anthem in 1795. It acquired its nickname after being sung in Paris by volunteers from Marseille marching on the capital.

The song is the first example of the "European march" anthemic style. The anthem's evocative melody and lyrics have led to its widespread use as a song of revolution and its incorporation into many pieces of classical and popular music (see below: Musical quotations). Cerulo says, "the design of 'La Marseillaise' is credited to General Strasbourg of France, who is said to have directed de Lisle, the composer of the anthem, to 'produce one of those hymns which conveys to the soul of the people the enthusiasm which it (the music) suggests.' "

History

As the French Revolution continued, the monarchies of Europe became concerned that revolutionary fervor would spread to their countries. The War of the First Coalition was an effort to stop the revolution, or at least contain it to France. Initially, the French army did not distinguish itself, and Coalition armies invaded France. On 25 April 1792, the mayor of Strasbourg requested his guest Rouget de Lisle compose a song "that will rally our soldiers from all over to defend their homeland that is under threat". That evening, Rouget de Lisle wrote "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" (English: "War Song for the Army of the Rhine"), and dedicated the song to Marshal Nicolas Luckner, a Bavarian in French service from Cham. The melody soon became the rallying call to the French Revolution and was adopted as "La Marseillaise" after the melody was first sung on the streets by volunteers (fédérés in French) from Marseille by the end of May. These fédérés were making their entrance into the city of Paris on 30 July 1792 after a young volunteer from Montpellier called François Mireur had sung it at a patriotic gathering in Marseille, and the troops adopted it as the marching song of the National Guard of Marseille. A newly graduated medical doctor, Mireur later became a general under Napoléon Bonaparte and died in Egypt at age 28.

The song's lyric reflects the invasion of France by foreign armies (from Prussia and Austria) that were under way when it was written. Strasbourg itself was attacked just a few days later. The invading forces were repulsed from France following their defeat in the Battle of Valmy. As the vast majority of Alsatians did not speak French, a German version ("Auf, Brüder, auf dem Tag entgegen") was published in October 1792 in Colmar.

The Convention accepted it as the French national anthem in a decree passed on 14 July 1795, making it France's first anthem. It later lost this status under Napoleon I, and the song was banned outright by Louis XVIII and Charles X, only being re-instated briefly after the July Revolution of 1830. During Napoleon I's reign, "Veillons au Salut de l'Empire" was the unofficial anthem of the regime, and in Napoleon III's reign, it was "Partant pour la Syrie". During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, "La Marseillaise" was recognised as the anthem of the international revolutionary movement; as such, it was adopted by the Paris Commune in 1871. Eight years later, in 1879, it was restored as France's national anthem, and has remained so ever since.

Arrangements

"La Marseillaise" was arranged for soprano, chorus and orchestra by Hector Berlioz in about 1830.

Franz Liszt wrote a piano transcription of the anthem.

During World War I, bandleader James Reese Europe played a jazz version of "La Marseillaise", which can be heard on Part 2 of the Ken Burns TV documentary Jazz.

Serge Gainsbourg recorded a reggae version in 1978, titled "Aux armes et cætera".

Henrik Wergeland wrote a Norwegian song in 1831 called "For norge, kjaempers Fødeland" ("To Norway, Mother of the Brave"), which he called "The Norwegian Marseillaise". The tune and lyrics are unrelated to the French original, however.

In Peru and Chile, both the Partido Aprista Peruano ("La Marsellesa Aprista"), and the Socialist Party of Chile ("La Marsellesa Socialista"), wrote their own versions of "La Marseillaise" to be their anthems. Both use the original tune.

Musical quotations

• During the French Revolution, Giuseppe Cambini published Patriotic Airs for Two Violins, in which the song is quoted literally and as a variation theme, with other patriotic songs.

• Ludwig van Beethoven quotes "La Marseillaise" in the Wellington's Victory ouverture, op. 91, composed in 1813.

• Gioachino Rossini quotes "La Marseillaise" in the second act of his opera Semiramide (1823).

• Robert Schumann used part of "La Marseillaise" for "Die beiden Grenadiere" (The Two Grenadiers), his 1840 setting (Op. 49, No. 1) of Heinrich Heine's poem "Die Grenadiere". The quotation appears at the end of the song when the old French soldier dies. Schumann also incorporated "La Marseillaise" as a major motif in his overture Hermann und Dorothea, inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and quotes it, in waltz rhythm, in the first movement of Faschingsschwank aus Wien, for solo piano.

• Richard Wagner also quotes from "La Marseillaise" in his 1839â€"40 setting of a French translation of Heine's poem.

• In Orphée aux enfers (1858), Jacques Offenbach quotes it in the “Choeur de la Révolte” (Revolutionary Chorus) in Act I, Scene. 2

• Giuseppe Verdi quotes from "La Marseillaise" in his patriotic anthem Hymn of the Nations, which also incorporates "God Save the King" and "Il Canto degli Italiani". In his 1944 film, the Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini also incorporated "The Internationale" for the Soviet Union and "The Star-Spangled Banner" representing the United States.

• In 1882, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky quoted "La Marseillaise" to represent the invading French army in his 1812 Overture. He also quoted the Russian national anthem he was familiar with, to represent the Russian army. However, neither of these anthems was actually in use in 1812.

• In 1896, Umberto Giordano briefly quoted the anthem in his opera Andrea Chénier.

• Claude Debussy quoted the anthem in the coda of his piano prelude, Feux d'artifice.

• Flemish composer Peter Benoit quoted "La Marseillaise" in the overture of his 1876 opera Charlotte Corday.

• Edward Elgar quoted the opening of "La Marseillaise" in his choral work The Music Makers, Op. 69 (1912), based on Arthur O'Shaughnessy's Ode, at the line "We fashion an empire's glory", where he also quoted the opening phrase of "Rule, Britannia!".

• Felix Weingartner incorporated fragments of the "Marseillaise", as well as of the Russian anthem God Save the Tsar!, the Kaiser's anthem Heil dir im Siegerkranz and of the Austrian anthem Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser in his concert overture Aus ernster Zeit, reflecting the major opponents of World War I.

• Heitor Villa-Lobos quoted "La Marseillaise" in his 3rd ("War") and 4th ("Victory") Symphonies (both 1919). In the finale of No. 3, fragments of it form a collage with the Brazilian national anthem.

• Dmitri Shostakovich quoted "La Marseillaise" at some length during the fifth reel of the film score he composed for the 1929 silent movie, The New Babylon (set during the Paris Commune), where it is juxtaposed contrapuntally with the famous "Can-can" from Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld.

• Max Steiner weaves quotes from "La Marseillaise" throughout his score for the 1942 film Casablanca. It also forms an important plot element when patrons of Rick's Café Américain, spontaneously led by Czech underground leader Victor Laszlo, sing the actual song to drown out Nazi officers who had started singing "Die Wacht am Rhein", thus causing Rick's to be shut down.

• Django Reinhardt released in 1946 a jazz version of La Marseillaise in his song Echoes of France.

• The Beatles hit single of 1967, "All You Need Is Love", used the opening bars of "La Marseillaise" as an introduction.

• Serge Gainsbourg released in 1979 a reggae version of La Marseillaise in his song Aux armes et cætera.

• The Slovenian music group Laibach released the album Volk in 2006, which featured interpretations of various national anthems and included "Francia", a song inspired by "La Marseillaise".

• In 2009, thrash metal band Metallica played their version of "La Marseillaise" as an intro to "Master of Puppets". This was recorded live as part of their DVD Français Pour Une Nuit ("French for a Night") from Nîmes.

• The University of Idaho fight song "Go, Vandals, Go" includes a musical phrase from "La Marseillaise" right before the end of the song in synch with the words "So all bear down for Idaho."

Musical antecedents

Several musical antecedents have been cited for the melody:

• Mozart's Allegro maestoso of Piano Concerto No. 25
• the credo of the fourth mass of Holtzmann of Mursberg
• the Oratorio Esther by Jean Baptiste Lucien Grison

Lyrics

Only the first verse (and sometimes the fifth and sixth) and the first chorus are sung today in France. There are some slight historical variations in the lyrics of the song; the following is the version listed at the official website of the French Presidency.

• FP National anthem (MP3 audio file, music only).

Bold Is Selected Verses Of The Current Anthem

Additional verses

These verses were omitted from the national anthem .

Historical use in Russia

In Russia, La Marseillaise was used as a republican revolutionary anthem by those who knew French starting in the 18th century, almost simultaneously with its adoption in France. In 1875 Peter Lavrov, a narodist revolutionary and theorist, wrote a Russian-language text (not a translation of the French one) to the same melody. This "Worker's Marseillaise" became one of the most popular revolutionary songs in Russia and was used in the Revolution of 1905. After the February Revolution of 1917, it was used as the semi-official national anthem of the new Russian republic. Even after the October Revolution, it remained in use for a while alongside The Internationale.

Criticism and controversy

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, a former President of France, has said that it is ridiculous to sing about drenching French fields with impure Prussian blood as a German Chancellor takes the salute in Paris. A 1992 campaign to change the words of the song involving more than 100 prominent French citizens, including Danielle Mitterrand, wife of then-President François Mitterrand, was unsuccessful.

In popular culture

• Robert A Heinlein named "La Marseillaise" in a series of motivational songs routinely sung by the recruits at boot camp in Starship Troopers.
• Django Reinhardt used the theme in "Échos de France."
• Neil Hannon used the primary melody for The Divine Comedy's 1996 single "Frog Princess."
• Jimi Hendrix, during a 1967 Paris concert, played a psychedelic version of the anthem.
• Frank Sinatra, as part of "French Foreign Legion."
• In 1978, Serge Gainsbourg recorded a reggae version, "Aux armes et cætera", with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar and Rita Marley in the choir in Jamaica.
• "La Marseillaise" is quoted in Rossini's 1813 opera, L'italiana in Algeri during the choral introduction to Isabella's 2nd act aria "Pensa alla patria."
• The song's theme was used by Jacques Offenbach in his Opera "Orpheus in the Underworld" to illustrate a revolution amongst the Olympic gods and goddesses with the lines "Aux armes Dieux et Demi-Dieux."
• The song occurs in the Monty Python's Broadway musical Spamalot when confronted by French knights in the song "Run Away!"
• Stefan Zweig narrates the creation of the anthem by De Lisle in one of the Decisive Moments in History.
• The 1938 film La Marseillaise shows the Marseille fédérés marching to Paris and singing the anthem.
• In the RKO film Joan of Paris (1942), "La Marseillaise" is sung by a classroom full of young schoolchildren as the Gestapo hunts their teacher, a French Resistance operative.
• "La Marseillaise" was famously used in Casablanca at the behest of Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) to drown out a group of German soldiers singing "Die Wacht am Rhein." It was also played during the closing card of the movie. Earlier, it appeared in Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion in a similar defiant fashion, sung by French and British POWs.
• Vanessa Redgrave sings "La Marsellaise" (in French) in the closing scene of Playing for Time, a 1980 CBS television film about the Auschwitz concentration camp. The accompanying English voiceover mistranslates the last lines of the refrainâ€"“Let an impure blood/Water our furrows!”â€"with the phrasingâ€"“Be not afraid! Our banner shall be forever high!”
• "La Marseillaise" was used in the film Escape to Victory, also known as Victory.
• In the biopic La Vie en Rose, chronicling the life of Edith Piaf, ten-year-old Edith is urged by her acrobat father to "do something" in the middle of a lackluster show, and she amazes the audience with an emotional rendition of "La Marseillaise."
• The British comedy series 'Allo 'Allo! spoofed Casablanca by having the patriotic French characters start singing "La Marseillaise," only to switch to Deutschlandlied when Nazi officers enter their cafe.
• The Brisbane Lions Football Club who play in the (AFL) team theme song is "The Pride of Brisbane Town" and it is sung to the music of "La Marseillaise." This song was adapted from the Fitzroy Lions song, also sung to the same melody, used since the 1950s.
• At the end of Guy de Maupassant's novella Boule de Suif, which is set against the backdrop of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the character Cornudet whistles and sings "La Marsellaise" for hours during a long carriage ride in order to torment his fellow passengers.
• The song is also featured in Isaac Asimov's short science fiction story Battle-hymn, about how the national anthem is used as a subliminal advertising ploy.
• The carillon of the town hall in the Bavarian town of Cham plays "La Marseillaise" every day at 12.05 pm to commemorate the French Marshal Nicolas Luckner, who was born there.
• Shortly after the composition of the original song, the Greek revolutionary Rigas Feraios, composed the Greek version of "La Marseillaise" (Sons of Greeks, Arise!). It became the hymn of war against Ottoman rule and a kind of Greek national anthem during the Greek War of Independence (1821â€"1830).
• The 19th-century Labour movement used a "Worker Marseillaise" (written 1864 by Jakob Audorf) that was later replaced by "The Internationale". It was famously sung on the way to the gallows by those sentenced to death after the Haymarket Riot.
• On the Belgian national holiday former Prime Minister Yves Leterme, a native speaker of Dutch, when asked by a Walloon journalist if he knew his national anthem in French, immediately and fluently sang the first line of "La Marseillaise" instead of the "Brabançonne." His televised confusion was seen as funny in Flanders, but negative reactions from Walloon media and politicians required Leterme to make a public apology.
• In the episode "France" of the cartoon Histeria!, which is about the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte, snippets of "La Marseillaise" can be heard at different parts of the episode.
• The song is used as Glass Joe's introductory theme in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and Punch-Out!!
• Assassin's Creed Unity features a variation of this song known as "Rather Death Than Slavery".
• Former French-Canadian professional wrestler Dino Bravo used the anthem as his entrance music during his WWE run.
• The anthem was sung by the crowd during the national mourning day across France as well as abroad after the Charlie Hebdo shooting occurred on 7 January 2015 in Paris, the deadliest terrorist attack in post-war France.
• An instrumental version is heard in the episode 'Art thief' of Mr Bean: The Animated Series.
• French baritone David Serero has performed it for presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Shimon Peres
• At one point in the twelfth Aubrey-Maturin novel by Patrick O'Brian, The Letter of Marque (1988), Stephen is absently playing some musical fragments on his cello, when Jack asks him, "Surely that is not the Marseillaise you are picking out?" Stephen replies no: "It is, or rather it is meant to be, the Mozart piece that was no doubt lurking somewhere in the Frenchman's mind when he wrote it."

See also

• "Marche Henri IV", the national anthem of the Kingdom of France
• "La Marseillaise des Blancs", the Royal and Catholic variation
• Ça Ira, another famous anthem of the French Revolution
• "Belarusian Marseillaise", a patriotic song in Belarus
• "Onamo", a Montenegrin patriotic song popularly known as The "Serbian Marseillaise"

Footnotes

Further reading

• Charles Hughes, "Music of the French Revolution," Science and Society, vol. 4, No. 2 (Spring 1940), pp. 193â€"210. In JSTOR.

External links

• The Marseillaise â€" Official French website (in English)
• La Marseillaise de Rouget de Lisle â€" Official site of Élysée â€" Présidence de la République (in French)
• Instrumental Version of the French National Anthem
• Streaming audio of the Marseillaise, with information and links
• La Marseillaise â€" Iain Patterson's comprehensive fansite features sheet music, history, and music files. A full length six verse version of the anthem performed by David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra & Chorus can be found in the Berlioz page.
• Adminet-France
• Texts on Wikisource:
  • La Marseillaise
  • "Marseillaise, The". The Nuttall Encyclopædia. 1907. 
  • "Marseillaise". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.