Show THE marseillaise MARSEIL LAISE 71 SONG AND AIR THE inspiration OP OF ROUGET DE on april 1792 the national assembly of trance voted for war with the emperor of austria it was a solemn dmn moment for it was the opening of a struggle that was to last for thirty years a struggle in which france single handed would have to contend ag against a dinst the armies of europe it reason had been alone consulted there seemed no hope of success strasburg burc in the month of april 1792 was in a condition typical of most of the great towns throughout france its streets its squares were filled with people of all 11 ages but chiefly with young men the bells were tol tolling lingi and mothers and sisters sister were hurrying to the churches for tl the dread boom oi of cannon was heard beard at intervals but bat the new nope hope the new faith rendered the young full of joy and fetes and banquets b singing em embracing bracing and hands snaking a ang were the order of the day T the he mayor of strasburg entered with all his bis heart into the he popular feeling and on the day after the vote lor for war he entertained some officers at his bis house among them came a young man from franche comte named rouget de clale born at laus le saulnier in the jura the son of a barrister connected with the provincial well educated and already known as a poet and musician this young man of of 23 represented the ardent and generous impulses that distinguished the youth around him mayor dietrichs nieces and some other alsatian ladies who were present aided to the enthusiasm of the gathering the wish was uttered that some poet might be inspired to express in a national L ong cong the intense feeling which at the moment made france a people the host turned to rouget de aisle and urged him to try to do this and the company present joined in the appeal there is more than one account of the circumstances which attended this request e eat but a note is preserved in the iota aque nationals nationale Nati Nat onale lonale at paris written by M delabarre a friend of bought de aisles which is said to give th the ef facts acts as narrated on the poets own authority it I 1 M dietrich appealed to him to compose both boch words worda and music of the song required all concurred in the request and about an hour before midnight he be returned home and finding his violin violia on his bis bed he took it up and full fall of the idea of that which he was requested to do he be began playing upon the upper strings for a f fugue ague for the air believing himself to have found it he immediately composed the words trusting entirely to memory and aad not committing anything to paper he be went to bed the next morning rising at six he fortana fortunately tely recollected both music and words he took them himself to M dietrich to whom he submitted it and who was not a little astonished at its very prompt Ins inspiration he was in his garden and after aate r a cursory perusal of the song he said jl let et us go into the drawing room that 1 m may ay t try ry your air on the plano piano he was struck with its beauty aroused his wife who was LAIR in bed and directed that each of the guests of the night before should be bidden to breakfast as fie had bad something of importance to communicate to them all came believing that he had already received news of blows struck in the war from gens luckner and lafayette he would not satisfy their curiosity on the point until they had breakfasted then he sang the hymn heartily and it produced immediate admiration according to Miche lets version some andrad said that I 1 allons aliens I 1 should be the key note of the hymn and now new as the poet entered the room he came singing the strophe allons enfante de dc la patrie the friends listened with ever increasing emotion it seemed both words and music as a flash of light from heaven it expressed in a way characteristic of a true inspiration the feeling of every heart france had bad not only realized her unity but found the gift of speech the song seng once sung passed like wildfire from mouth to mouth month and in two months was all over france the poet called it hymn of the army of the rhine and ne he sent it the same day to gen luckner lackner who was at the head bead ot of this portion of the french troops it was immediately printed on a halt half sheet in oblong quarto and those who could not obtain a copy made one for themselves the orchestras at the theatress theatres the atres gave it and the band of the national guard played it on an the following sunday who composed the music undoubtedly as we have said music and verse were of one and the same inspiration germany has claimed the music as taken from a mass by holtzman but research has been unable to find the mass in question or that such a composer to ser ever lived the point is settled in the fact that in the original impression dedicated to luckner lackner and published at strasburg in 1792 the music is there and that contemporaries who knew rouget de aisle say that it was he himself who composed it it would be difficult to find a national ode filled with a patriotic fervor more intense but the music is undoubtedly superior to the words and I 1 venture to say the inspiring the modern world possesses the austrian emperor had made three demands submission to the first two would have reduced france franc to a fief of the empire the third was still more odious for it meant a return to the old order of things the answer came in this hymn of the army of the rhine in june jane 1792 it was sung to the volunteers departing from marseilles and to each was given a copy three days after the manifesto was issued the famous six hundred who wao knew how bow to die entered paris pans singing what had now become the WY hymn mn of the revolution henceforth ft wils was called the hymn of the marseillaise Marseil laise and the then simply the Mar marseillaise Marseil alse laise 11 it did at once terrible and effective work for to its strains the Tuille Taille ries were taken and the french monarchy overthrown valmy and jemappes Je mappes followed and the invasion collapsed what the ode did in battle may be seen by a demoted of one of the republican generi alt stend rend me 1000 men and a copy of the marseillaise Marseil Marseill laise alse leisure hour bow |