Chant du départ


The "Chant du Départ" is a revolutionary and war song written by Étienne Nicolas Méhul and Marie-Joseph Chénier in 1794. It was the official anthem of the First Empire. It is also the regional anthem of French Guiana.
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."
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.
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 bullet 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 Internationale are unmistakable.

Lyrics