Ètieene Méhul

Ètieene Nicolas Méhul (1763-1817) was a French composer. He was the most important composer in France during the Revolution and the first composer to be labeled as romantic. Méhul was born in France but studied music with Wilhelm Hanser, in Germany.  In 1778 he went to Paris to study with Jean-Frédéric Edelmann. He originally began composing piano pieces and arranging arias for popular operas. From those successes he began his career in opera. His first two operas were to be preformed were failures. First Alonzo et Cora was originally set to be preformed in 1789 and was flopped by the opera house until 1791. His second opera, Adrien, was banned for political reasons.  Amongst this his third opera premiered, Euphrosine. This opera was extremely successful and put Méhul on the map as a new talent. During the revolution in France he wrote operas, patriotic songs, and propaganda music. His most famous piece is Chant du depart, or Song of the Departure.  This song is what marks him as a true Romantic composer.   First performed in 1794 with each stanza sung by a different group or characters in the choir for instance the first stanza is a speech of an officer cheering on his soldiers, the second, is of a mother offering her sons life to the fatherland and the Fourth, is sung by children.  This Song survived both the Revolution and the Empire and is still sung by the French Army.

Lyrics:

A deputy of the People

Victory sings
Opens its gate for us
Liberty guides our steps
And from North to South
The horn of war
Rang the battle hour
Tremble, enemies of France

Kings drunk on blood and pride
Sovereign People comes forth
Tyrants go down to your graves

Song of the Warriors (chorus)

The Republic is calling us

Let's know how to vanquish or let's know how to perish
A Frenchman must live for her [the Republic]
For her [the Republic] a Frenchman must die

A mother of a Family

Do not fear that our motherly eyes shall weep From us begone, cowardly grief! We shall triumph when you take up arms It is kings who should shed a tear We gave you life Warriors, it is no longer yours All your days belong to the Motherland She is your mother more than we are (Chorus)

Two old men

May their fathers' blade be placed in the hands of the brave, Remember us on the Field of Mars (on the battlefield) Baptise in the blood of kings and slaves The blade thus blessed by your elders And by bringing back home Both wounds and virtues Return to shut our eyes When tyrants are no more (Chorus)

A child

The fates of Barra and Viala fill us with envy They died, but they prevailed Cowards crushed by the weight of years never truly knew life He who dies for the People has lived You are brave, so are we Lead us against Tyrants Republicans are men Slaves are children (Chorus)

A wife

Leave, valiant husbands! Battles are your feasts Leave, models for warriors We shall pick flowers to crown your heads Our hands shall braid laurels And if the temple of memory (death) Should open for your victorious manes Our voices shall sing your glory Our wombs shall bear your avengers (Chorus)

A young girl

And we, sister of the heroes, we who of Hymenaios marriage's sweet bonds Are still ignorant If someday to join his fate to ours A citizen should express the wish Let them come back within our walls Embellished with glory and liberty And let their blood, in battle Have spilled for equality (Chorus)

Three warriors

On the iron, before God, we swear to our fathers to our wives, to our sisters to our representatives, to our sons, to our mothers that we shall annihilate oppressors Everywhere, into the deep night by sinking the infamous royalty the French shall give to the world peace and liberty (Chorus)

https://www.marxists.org/history/france/revolution/1794/chant-du-depart.htm

http://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=dhp