Download “La Marseillaise” (Verse 1)

By Caitlin Smith
“EL PRESIDENTE”
After the Bastille
So, the storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789) did not
mark the downfall of the monarchy in France. King
Louis XVI didn’t actually leave his palace in Versailles
until October, where a public escort transferred him to
Paris. He remained there under house arrest at the
Tuileries Palace.
During that time opera houses were offering thinly
disguised allegories of the day’s events.
After the Bastille
Luigi Cherubini’s Lodoiska was one the most popular operas of its
time. After it’s premiere in July 1791 it ran for more than 200
performances.
Though it is set in Poland during the 1600’s; it is clearly meant to be
understood by the French audiences as an analogy to the events
they were, at the time, living through.
The opera tells the story of a wicked ruler who has imprisoned an
innocent and virtuous young woman (Lodoiska).
A young nobleman storms the castle and recues her, and then at
the end of the opera the castle collapses and goes up in flames.
Liberty triumph's over tyranny.
Lodoiska set the standard for “rescue opera”
Origins
 The military played an
 The Song soon became
obviously important role in
the musical life of this
period.
 April 1792 – Claude Joseph
Rouget de Lisle, a young
Army officer wrote the
words and music to a song
he then called, “Chant de
guerre pour l’armee du
Rhin” (“War Song for the
Army of the Rhine”)
popular among the
Marseilles Volunteer
Battalion, and they sang it
when they marched into
Paris later that year.
 It soon became known as
“La Marseillaise”
Play the song now
Structure
 As with many French Revolution pieces, this song is
structured as follows:
 A soloist presents the main text and then a chorus joins
in with a refrain and the end of each stanza, affirming
what the soloist has just declared.
 It has a dotted rhyme scheme. (short-LONG, shortLONG) and a brisk tempo to give its march-like melody
a martial air.
Song of the People
 “La Marseillaise” was declared the French National Anthem




in 1795.
It music is rousing, but the words are among the most
violent of all national anthems, reflecting on its origins in
the era of the French Revolution.
The Marseillaise was the musical equivilant of a flag. It was
something tha the people could rally around.
The people could create this symbol themselves by singing
it.
Though there is a massive orchestra in the USAD music CD
version, it was often sung acapella before Hector Berlioz
created that musical accompaniment score in the 1830.
Liberty Leading the
People by Eugene
Delacroix
Though this is not actually
one of our pieces (Delacroix
is on our outline with
another of his pieces, The
Royal Tiger lithograph); this
is a great symbol of “La
Marseillaise” and the French
Revolution in General. I just
thought I’d share it with you
all. :D
Were you listening???
The main theme of Lodoïska is
the triumph of?
Liberty
Lodoïska
premiered in…
1791
What was the occupation of
Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle,
the author and composer of La
Marseillaise?
Military Officer
What gave “La
Marseillaise” its
name?
the Marseilles Volunteer
Battalion sang it
What give “La Marseillaise” its
marital air?
The dotted rhythms
What year did“La
Marseillaise” become
the National Anthem
of France?
1795
In what year was La Marseillaise
set to orchestral music?
1830
Who composed the
orchestral version of
La Marseillaise?
Hector Berlioz
What is the topic of the first
verse of La Marseillaise?
Freedom and
justice
La Marseillaise was
written in
1792