La Marseillaise Today

As Chief of the Music of the Republican Guards from 1927 to 1944, Pierre Dupont (1888-1969) adapted the music of the French national anthem to military orchestras taking into account their instrumental diversities. La Marseillaise is played or/and sung during official ceremonies and also during international sporting events.

On 24 January 2003, the French National Assembly introduced in the Loi de programmation de la sécurité intérieure–LOPSI–[Homeland Security Framework Act] an amendment by which all offense to the symbols of the Republic such as the national flag and anthem must be punished by law as a crime of outrage upon national dignity, particularly during demonstrations regulated by the public authorities. In March 2005, the Loi Fillon made the teaching of La Marseillaise mandatory in all French primary and secondary schools.

In September 2015, in a context of strong reaffirmation of French values and principles such as secularism, equality, fraternity and rejection of all discrimination, French President François Hollande officially declared the year 2016 “Year of La Marseillaise”. He reminded that the French national anthem was for all Frenchmen a rallying song, adding “[…] It is–in the difficult times we are going through–very important that we need to be united in the face of threats, and they exist–terrorism–in the face of major challenges that are happening far away from us but that concern us all–war–in the face of the fears we are feeling inside, the security concerns that we may have, the hopes that we must have […]”.

Paris victims of 2015 honoured in national memorial service

Following the Paris terrorist attacks of 13 November 2015, the French national anthem was spontaneously sung all over the world by all, famous and ordinary people alike. Internet offered a live broadcasting of the national homage paid to the victims and world-wide moral support was provided to the French.

The Hôtel national des Invalides is a place where national tributes are normally paid to servicemen, French resistance fighters, pensioners of the Institution nationale des Invalides and honourable personalities.

On 27 November 2015, the President of the French Republic led a memorial ceremony to civilian and military victims as the entire French government and members of the opposition, relatives and friends stood in silence. La Marseillaise by Hector Berlioz was performed by the singers of the Academy of the Opéra de Paris and the Chœur de l’Armée française [French Army Choir] accompanied by the Orchestra of the Republican Guard. During official ceremonies, it is customary to perform only two verses and the chorus, the choice of the verses being made according to the nature of events. During the solemn ceremony at the Invalides, the sixth verse which is rarely sung followed the first one and the chorus.

At the Place de la République in Paris, ordinary people, French and foreign personalities also sung La Marseillaise. At the same time, the monumental statue by Léopold Morice (1846-1919) named Monument à la République suddenly became a memorial site to pay tribute to the victims as pictured on the photograph above

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : episode 21 first appeared on The News blog.

Mockery & cetera

Following its creation in 1792, the song written by Rouget de Lisle was translated into several languages, cited, spoofed and even misused. The French People along with some foreigners appropriated La Marseillaise, quickly, lastingly but also in part. Some repeated the lyrics, and others a few notes… La Marseillaise was claimed and acclaimed but it was also fought.

Here are some examples of these “reuses” :

On 2 October 1792, French composer François-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829) harmonised and orchestrated the song for the first time in an opera called L’Offrande à la liberté [Offering to Liberty]. In 1792, the lyrics of the song were distorted in order to compose a Parisian carnivalesque hymn dedicated to French cuisine called Le Retour du soldat [The Return of the Soldier]. The song renamed La Marseillaise de la Courtille reintroduced both the music and the lyrics of La Marseillaise by Rouget de Lisle. In 1840, Richard Wagner (1813-1833) who was living in Paris at the time wrote to Robert Schumann (1810-1856) : “I learned that you put to music the verses of The Two Grenadiers poem by Heine and that you incorporated La Marseillaise at the end. I also put them into music last winter myself and also incorporated La Marseillaise. This is not insignificant !”

During their 1946 concert tour in London, guitar player Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli gave a jazz improvisation of La Marseillaise that was recorded under the title Echoes of France. Written in 1967, John Lennon’s song All You Need Is Love starts with the introduction to La Marseillaise.

Aux armes et cætera

It was in Jamaica in January 1979 that Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) wrote the lyrics of his song Aux armes et cætera on the music of La Marseillaise by de Rouget de Lisle. Five days later, Gainsbourg recorded his first reggae album. His interpretation of La Marseillaise became a scandal with significant public outrage. Years later, he confessed that since he did not know all the verses of the French national anthem, he looked at the French encyclopaedia Le Grand Larousse and observed that to save place the chorus had been abbreviated to “Aux armes et cætera…” or “etc.” or “bis”.

• Listen to Serge Gainsbourg’s Aux armes et cætera

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : episode 20 first appeared on The News blog.

During the Second World War

Throughout the Second World War, La Marseillaise remained the French national anthem both for the État Français [French State of the Vichy Government] and the French Resistance. Although the anthem was forbidden in the so-called “occupied zone” it was still authorized in the “free zone”. The head of the État Français, Marshal Philippe Pétain wished to retain the lyrics that well served the ideology his regime such as : “Drive on sacred patriotism” and the “Arise children of the Fatherland”. The French national anthem was played each time Marshal Pétain made a state address and during all his official visits. In 1941, Admiral François Darlan, at the time head of the Vichy government, limited the use of La Marseillaise and the French flag in order to prevent the Resistance to appropriate unto its members French national symbols and when a government official was not present, a special written request was required to be allowed to sing the national anthem. However, this did not prevent the French resistance fighters sentenced to death to sing it in front the firing squads as the twenty-seven hostages of Châteaubriand, amongst which the young Guy Môquet, did on 22 October 1941. The deportees and the Free French sung it often, along with other songs such as Le Chant des Partisans [The Song of the Partisans] that was written by Joseph Kessel and Maurice Druon. During the war years, several underground newspapers published by the French Resistance used the name La Marseillaise for their newspapers. In September 1944, the Minister of Education of the Vichy Government issued a circular making the teaching of La Marseillaise mandatory in all French schools.

The two leaflets above were either inspired by or a reinterpretation of La Marseillaise by Rude. Still, they have in common the French colours, the Cross of Lorraine as the emblem of Free France and the first verse of the chorus of the national anthem. They were printed in Great-Britain in 1942 by the Political Warfare Executive (PWE), and smuggled into France by the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

General de Gaulle Sings…

The above photograph was taken on 18 June 1943. Brigadier General Charles de Gaulle and Army General Georges Catroux (1877-1969) who was Governor General of Algeria from 1943 to 1944, are seen both singing La Marseillaise on the occasion of the third anniversary of Charles de Gaulle’s Appeal of 18 June in front of the Monument aux Morts (First World War Memorial) in Algers, designed by French sculptor Paul Landowski at the bottom of which they just laid a wreath.  On this occasion, General de Gaulle made a broadcast.  Following the Liberation of Paris, Charles de Gaulle sung La Marseillaise as he walked down the Champs-Élysées in Paris…

General de Gaulle Listens…

On 4 February 1944, General Charles de Gaulle and his spouse Yvonne attended a charity gala for the benefit of the Children of France given at the Théâtre de l’Empire in Algers. French actress Gisèle Grandpré (1912-2002), made her stage appearance fully wrapped in the Tricolore and surrounded by members of different communities all dressed in traditional clothing. Photographs on the right were taken as Gisèle Grandpré was singing La Marseillaise during the final scene. General de Gaulle, his wife and the spectators stood up respectfully as the National Anthem was being sung.

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : episode 19 first appeared on The News blog.

War Bonds

Although exceptional credits were voted by the Legislative Assembly in order to finance military operations and war industries in the early stages of the war, very soon France started facing a liquidity crisis. Like most countries involved in the war, France issued war bonds to raise money for its involvement in the war. The first war bond was issued in November 1915, the second and third ones were respectively issued in October 1916 and 1917, and the fourth and last one in 1918. War bonds also maintained the confidence that the Home Front was and remained totally mobilized. The state turned to the banks and pressured them to advertise, promote and sell the largest quantities of bonds. Advertising posters were printed in order to nurture patriotism among the general public.

Rouget de Lisle needs you

The Societé Marseillaise de Crédit Industriel et Commercial et de Dépôts (SMC) was a bank founded in Marseille during the reign of Napoleon III. In 1871, its headquarters moved to Paris, on 75 rue de Paradis.

The poster above was printed in 1918. It is quite likely that the president of the bank, Jules Charles Roux (1841-1918) who was born in Marseilles participated in choosing this particular illustration.

This poster was signed by French architect Jacques Carlu (1890-1976) who got his inspiration from the 1849 representation of Rouget de Lisle by Isidore Pils (1813/15-1875). Rouget de Lisle’s right hand is shown pointing to the Société Marseillaise as he is haranguing soldiers wearing an Adrian helmet. The bareheaded soldier in the front answers to the call by pointing his gun. The author of La Marseillaise and the two open-mouthed soldiers in the front look as though they are singing French anthem. The Tricolore is blowing in the wind, over the fighting men.

During the Great War, the figure of Rouget de Lisle was used on only one poster while five others used La Marseillaise sculpted by François Rude, and four others the allegories of the Fatherland, the French Republic, France and Liberty.

The poster is accompanied by three slogans : À l’appel de Rouget de Lisle ; Souscrivez à l’emprunt de la Libération ; Allons donc enfants de la Patrie, allez achever de libérer les peuples des dernières fureurs de la force immonde by Georges Clémenceau (1841-1929) who was President of the Council. [Rouget de Lisle needs you–Subscribe to the Liberation War Bond–Let’s go Children of the Fatherland, go and finish to liberate the people from the last evil dogs of war].

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : episode 18 first appeared on The News blog.

Translation de cendres

Although translations differ from burials, they have similar aspects. During a translation, the body of the defunct buried in a cemetery is exhumed and the remains also referred to in French as “ashes” are transferred to a different resting place. Just as for burials, translations are a ceremony for honouring the life of the defunct. However, as translations are generally prepared for long in advance, they can easily be associated with symbolic and political meanings. This specific ceremony was introduced during the French Consulate, specifically with the translation of the remains of Turenne (1611-1675) to the Hôtel national des Invalides in 1800. During the French First Empire, Napoleon I requested the translation of Vauban’s heart (1633-1707) to the Dôme of the Invalides. In 1840, King Louis-Philippe I did likewise with the remains of Napoleon I. During the ceremonies that took place for these translations, pensioners residing in the Hôtel national des Invalides fulfilled their role as ceremonial guards. The translation of the remains of Rouget de Lisle in 1915 took place without any religious ceremony, but among an impressive military deployment. The primary objectives of this translation were both symbolic and patriotic, and the address pronounced by the French President of the Republic greatly contributed to it. The crowd was not in mourning since the deceased had died a long time ago.

In the Court d’Honneur

The crowd and photographers are swarming in the Cour d’Honneur of the Hôtel national des Invalides. Spoils of war : aeroplanes, zeppelin fragments and guns are presented in the courtyard.

Once the speeches have all been made, Raymond Poincaré and both speakers of the Chambers leave the Hôtel des Invalides. The coffin of Rouget de Lisle is placed under the catafalque in front of the church steps. Civilians and servicemen take a last walk by the coffin throughout the afternoon.

On the photograph above. Émile-Marie Laurent (1852-1930), Prefect of Paris has tipped his top-hat, maybe relieved that the ceremony was incident free. A young boy dressed in the very popular sailor suit is staring at one of the photographers.

Commemorative medals with the portrait of Rouget de Lisle struck for this occasion were sold for the benefit of wounded soldiers.

The Governors’ Vault

At 5 o’clock in the afternoon, the gates of the Hôtel des Invalides were closed. The coffin was deposited in the Governors’ Vault, under the altar of the Soldiers’ Church. It was placed into one of the empty niches of the columbarium. The niche was closed with a niche cover without any markings. During the 1960’s, the society of the Jura Français wrote to André Malraux, Minister for Cultural Affairs, to seek the authorization for replacing the niche cover by an engraved one with Rouget de Lisle’s name, surname and dates of birth and death.

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : episode 17 first appeared on The News blog.

The arc de triomphe de l’Étoile

On 17 July 1915, the coffin of Rouget de Lisle was taken from a van and placed on a wheeled gun carriage beneath the arc de triomphe de l’Étoile. The coffin was covered with a red velvet draperie with gold thread fringe. In front of the carriage fourteen Tricolores were arranged side by side on a caisson. The carriage and caisson were drawn by six harnessed horses..

At the same time, at the foot of La Marseillaise sculpted by Rude, musicians of the Republican Guard played the French national anthem. On the photograph above, we can see that for the most part, they are playing a wind instrument. Standing on a podium, to the right of the musicians, Marie Delna sung the first verse of the anthem. The chorus was then led by the choirs of the Opéra de Paris, the Comédie Française and the Conservatory of Music of Paris. Then Henri Albers took over and sung the second verse. The singers alternated the verses and the chorus all throughout the anthem. We can see that one musician looking up to the sky–could it be that the noise of the planes above distracted him ?

At ten o’clock, the coffin was carried in procession down the Champs-Élysées to the Hôtel national des Invalides. The French president of the Republic, Raymond Poincaré and 15 of 32 members of his government walked behind the carriage.

In front of the Soldiers’ Church–today referred to as the Saint-Louis-des-Invalides Cathedral–after listening for the second time La Marseillaise, Raymond Poincaré delivered an address that was published the next morning and generated headlines in all French newspapers. In his address, the French president made a connection between the political context of the creation of La Marseillaise in 1792 and the political context of July 14, 1915, and reasserted the need for a Sacred Union if France was to defeat Germany.

The French government commissioned Joseph-Félix Bouchor a commemorative painting of the translation of the remains of Rouget de Lisle. The artist got his inspiration from a photograph and added the Genious of War by François Rude which he positioned above Poincaré’s head. The masterpiece was displayed at the Museum of Luxembourg in February 1916.

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : episode 16 first appeared on The News blog.

© Paris, musée de l’Armée, dist. RMN-GP

© Paris, musée de l’Armée, dist. RMN-GP

At Choisy-Le-Roi

The photograph on the right shows the stone sarcophagus–162 cm long, 30 cm deep and 30 cm high–unearthed on 12 July 1915. The name of the defunct is engraved on both sides. A journalist wrote in the French periodical Le Petit Parisien that the sarcophagus contained the skull and both shins, while the other remains of the deceased had been reduced to dust. The sarcophagus was enclosed in an oak casket.

© Nanterre, Bibliothèque de documentation internationale contemporaine

A bronze wreath presented by the city of Choisy-le-Roi was placed on the casket. The casket was placed inside a van decorated with tricolour flags bordered with gold fringes. Aeroplanes flew over the park of the city hall…

A Ceremony Placed Under Strict Surveillance

“It is Wednesday, 14 July : so the remains of Rouget de Lisle were transported at the Invalides and not at the Panthéon. It was a cloudy, windy and cold day. The French aeroplanes streaked the sky, flying right under the clouds, to keep the Tauben [German monoplane aircraft] at a distance”.

Raymond Poincaré, Au service de la France : neuf années de souvenirs, [In the Service of France: Nine Years of Memories] Paris 1930, t VI

The security of the ceremony was placed under the authority of the Prefect of Paris, Émile Laurent. This was not an easy task because almost all members of the French Government were present, followed by thongs of people.

© Paris, musée de l’Armée, dist. RMN-GP

The aeroplanes of the French V97 Squadron flew over the park of Choisy-le-Roi during the loading of the coffin in the van in order to ensure its protection. During the ceremony, French aeroplanes flew at a lower altitude over the funeral procession. On photographs, we can see a large number of spectators raising their eyes to the sky to watch the planes flying over them. Journalists and spectators alike thought that this aerial show was given in honour of the deceased.

© Sylvie Picolet

Placed under the command of Lieutenant Jean-Benjamin Laurens, the fleet of the V97 Squadron was part of the security apparatus of the so-called entrenched Paris camp. Some co-pilots, such as Sergeant Morel took photographs during the ceremony. Equipped with machines guns or a 37 mm gun, the aeroplanes stood ready to take the air against any enemy plane spotted by the different listening and monitoring devices deployed inside and outside Paris.

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : episode 15 first appeared on The News blog.

How the idea Translation of the Body came about

The idea of translating the remains of Rouget de Lisle at the Panthéon was not a new idea. On 30 April 1913, one could read in the French periodical Gil Blas “Neither Rouget de Lisle, nor Chenier or Méhul were entitled to receive the honours of Panthéon. France did not mark its eternal gratitude and reconnaissance to Tyrtaeus. Shocking injustice and darkest ingratitude that should therefore be repaired by celebrating the apotheosis of La Marseillaise and Le Chant du Départ [Song of the Departure] by the translation of the remains of their respective composers”.

Early in the year 1915, many journalists and politicians started pursuing this idea. By July 1915, everybody was speaking about it. On 5 July, journalist Léo Poldès interviewed several personalities on the translation for the periodical Le Bonnet Rouge. Paul Painlevé, Deputy for Seine, declared that “To celebrate, in the midst of war, the secular glory of La Marseillaise by means of the translation of the remains of Rouget de Lisle to the Panthéon is, I believe, the greatest celebration one could think of during this heroic epoch”. The question was also asked to the famous reporter Pierre Giffard who recalled that he had also written in the periodical Le Petit Parisien on 26 April 1915 a favourable article.

On 6 July 1915, a vote was processed on an emergency basis in the city hall of Paris. On 10 July (or 11) the Council of Ministers decided on the translation of the remains to the Panthéon. The organisers only had a couple of days left to organise the ceremony for July 14 !

Dubost

Two Resting Places for One Body

On July 1915, French journalist Pierre Giffard (1853-1922) declared that it would be rather difficult in such a short period of time to obtain a favourable response from the two Houses–the Senate and the Chambers of Deputies–and obtain a vote in favour of the translation at the Panthéon since a legislative measure was required. This particular legislative measure was also pointed out by Eugène Pierre (1814-1925), then secretary of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.

Since it was parliamentary break both houses were in recess. Neither the Senate Speaker Antonin Dubost (1844-1921), nor the Speaker of the Deputies’ Chamber Paul Deschanel (1855-1922) wished to personally take the decision of getting past the votes of both houses. Consequently, the translation of the body of Rouget de Lisle was decided on 10 or 11 July by the members of the French Council of Ministers and the act published in the Journal Official the same day. The city of Choisy-le-Roi was also informed at the same time.

Deschanel

The poster on the left was printed and plastered on the walls of Choisy-le-Roi on 12 July 1915 on the occasion of the translation of the remains of Rouget de Lisle from Choisy-le-Roi to Paris. The address to the citizens of the city of Choisy-le-Roi by their mayor invites them to come to the city hall to pay their tribute to the author of La Marseillaise on 13 July. In the address it is twice stated that the remains will be laid to rest at the Panthéon.

On 13 July 1915, the French government eager not to thread upon the prerogatives of the Legislative Assembly, issued a decree which authorized the translation of the remains of Rouget de Lisle to the Hôtel national des Invalides, in Paris since no legislative measure was required for this purpose.

The unsigned second poster on the right was also printed and plastered on the Parisian walls. It details the full-day programme and lists the names of the personalities and officials who had to attend the ceremony. In the first line of the title, “Panthéon” was replaced by “Hôtel des Invalides”.

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : épisode 14 first appeared on The News blog.

A “Living Embodiment of La Marseillaise”

In 1905, Louise-Anthelmine Chenal, also known as Marthe Chenal (1881-1947) won first prize of singing and opera at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris. The following year, she made her professional debut at the Opéra de Paris. She then joined the Opéra-Comique in 1908.

In August 1914, she volunteered as a nurse. On 20 August 1914, she sung La Marseillaise for the first time during a benefit concert held for reservists and wounded soldiers. She performed both on the home front and on the front lines, in particular on the stage of the “Front Theatre” where she became extremely successful among the “Poilus”. The French government also asked her to take part in propaganda missions on the Italian Front.

Reciting or singing La Marseillaise on stage was not new and a great number of French celebrities had already done so, such as the actress Rachel (1821-1858) as early as 1848, the soprano Marie Sass (1834-1907) under the Second Empire and the actress Agar (1832-1891) during the 1870’s. Each of them made their appearance by firmly holding the flagpole of French flag tight.

On Sunday 6 December 1914, following the authorization of the re-opening of all show places in Paris, La Marseillaise was performed in all the theatres. At the Comédie-Française, following his Horace performance, the dramatic actor Jean Mounet-Sully (1841-1916) recited La Marseillaise as he would had done during the national celebrations of July, 14. The same applied at the Opéra-Comique where at the end of her performances Marthe Chenal “sung the national anthem with her captivating and resonant voice, spreading her arms wide open to display a large flag to emerge at its centre as the personified goddess of Victory”.

The drawing on the postcard reproduced here was realised in 1914 by Georges Scott (1873-1943) who drew his inspiration from a photograph of the celebrated opera singer. Published on 12 December 1914 in the French illustrated magazine L’Illustration, Scott added a touch of colour, in the background soldiers of the French Revolution and two bunches of flowers bouquets at the foreground. Widely reproduced all across France, this drawing inspired many other singers.

On the photograph on the upper top, Marthe Chenal is crowned by a laurel crown, symbol of Victory. Her make-up and her open mouth strongly are reminiscent of the features of La Marseillaise of the arc de triomphe de l’Étoile sculpted by François Rude.

The series of photographs were taken by French photographer Henri Manuel (1847-1947) who was an official war photographer until 1944. He also made studio-portraits of leading personalities from the political and cultural fields in his studio located in the 7th arrondissement in Paris.

On the evening of 11 November 1918, standing of the balcony of the Opéra de Paris–today Opéra Garnier–the prima donna sung La Marseillaise in front of Georges Clemenceau and a huge audience.

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : episode 13 first appeared on The News blog.

From one resting place to another

On a Sunday, 26 June 1836, just before midnight, Rouget de Lisle died at Choisy-le-Roi following a severe bronchial catarrh. He was 76 years old. His funeral took place on 28 June. The funeral march was humble. The sword of a Captain of the Engineering Corps, surrounded by a wreath of laurel, was lying on the funeral pall with the Cross of the Legion of Honour. The burial took place in the cemetery of Choisy-le-Roi.

On 31 June 1850, a decree declared the public necessity of a creation a construction of a new cemetery at Choisy-le-Roi. Informed of these developments, Charles-Arthur Perrotin (1796 ?–1866) purchased a concession in perpetuity in the new cemetery and built a tomb where the mortal remains of Rouget de Lisle were transferred on 8 November 1861.

The post Rouget de Lisle & La Marseillaise : épisode 12 first appeared on The News blog.