Chant du départ
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The "Chant du Départ" (French for "Song of the Departure") is a revolutionary and war song written by Étienne Nicolas Méhul (music) and Marie-Joseph Chénier (words) in 1794. It was the official anthem of the First Empire.[1] It is also the regional anthem of French Guiana.[citation needed]
The song was nicknamed "the brother of the Marseillaise" by Republican soldiers. It was presented to Maximilien Robespierre, who called it "magnificent and republican poetry way beyond anything ever made by the Girondin Chénier."[citation needed]
The song was first performed by the orchestra and choirs of the Music academy on 14 July 1794. 17,000 copies of the music sheets were immediately printed and distributed in the 14 Armies of the Republic. Its original title was Anthem to Liberty; it was changed to its present title by Robespierre.[citation needed]
The song is a musical tableau: each of the seven stanzas is sung by a different character or group of characters:
- The first stanza is the discourse of a deputy cheering his soldiers and encouraging them for the fight for the Republic
- The second stanza is the song of a mother offering the life of her son to the fatherland.
- The fourth stanza is sung by children exalting Joseph Agricol Viala and Joseph Bara, children aged 12 and 13, respectively, who had died for France. Surrounded by Vendeans, Bara was ordered to shout "Long live Louis XVII"; he shouted "Long live the Republic" instead and was executed on the spot. Viala was killed by a very rounded ball as he was trying to sabotage an enemy bridge. His last words were "I die, but I die for the Republic."
The song is still in the repertoire of the French Army. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing used it as his campaign song for the presidential election of 1974. As a president, he often had it played by troops along with the Marseillaise.
Similarities in melody to the later, less complex The Internationale are unmistakable.
Lyrics
Un député du Peuple | A deputy of the People |
La victoire en chantant Nous ouvre la barrière. |
Victory sings Opens its gate for us |
Chant des guerriers (Refrain) | Song of the Warriors (Chorus) |
La République nous appelle Sachons vaincre ou sachons périr |
The Republic is calling us Let's know how to vanquish or let's know how to perish |
Une mère de famille | A mother of a family |
De nos yeux maternels ne craignez pas les larmes : Loin de nous de lâches douleurs ! |
Do not fear that our motherly eyes shall weep From us begone, cowardly grief! |
Deux vieillards | Two old men |
Que le fer paternel arme la main des braves ; Songez à nous au champ de Mars ; |
May their fathers' blade be placed in the hands of the brave, Remember us on the Field of Mars (on the battlefield) |
Un enfant | A child |
De Barra, de Viala le sort nous fait envie ; Ils sont morts, mais ils ont vaincu. |
The fates of Barra and Viala fill us with envy They died, but they prevailed |
Une épouse | A wife |
Partez, vaillants époux ; les combats sont vos fêtes ; Partez, modèles des guerriers ; |
Leave, valiant husbands! Battles are your feasts Leave, models for warriors |
Une jeune fille | A young girl |
Et nous, sœurs des héros, nous qui de l'hyménée Ignorons les aimables nœuds ; |
And we, sisters of the heroes, we who of Hymenaios marriage's sweet bonds Are still ignorant |
Trois guerriers | Three warriors |
Sur le fer devant Dieu, nous jurons à nos pères, À nos épouses, à nos sœurs, |
On the iron, before God, we swear to our fathers to our wives, to our sisters |
References
- ^ "Le Chant du Départ". Napoleon.org. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Chant du départ ("la victoire en chantant") on YouTube.