Le Chant du Départ (1794) - First French Empire National Anthem (1804–1808)

About the anthem: “Le Chant du départ“ (’The Song of Departure’) is a revolutionary and war song written by Étienne Méhul (music) and Marie-Joseph Chénier (words) in 1794. It was the official anthem of the French Empire, and it is currently the unofficial regional anthem of French Guiana and the presidential anthem of France. The song was nicknamed “the brother of the Marseillaise“ by Republican soldiers. About the composers: Étienne Nicolas Méhul (16 November 1765 - 24 December 1817) was a French composer of the classical period. He was known as “the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution“. He was also the first composer to be called a “Romantic“. Marie-Joseph Blaise de Chénier (11 February 1764 – 10 January 1811) was a French poet, dramatist and politician of French and Greek origin. The list of his works includes hymns and national songs among others, for example; the famous “Le Chant du départ“. Some notes about this video: As you can notice, most of the footage (films, paintings) shown is about the French Revolution and the first French Empire, this is due to the historical context of this patriotic song. More than half of the video is about the French Revolution, but since this was also the anthem of the first French empire, it is also a “tribute“ to that empire, more specifically the verses of the warriors “Trois guerriers“. Despite some claims on the internet about the “officiality“ of this anthem as part of the first French empire, there are many doubts about it today. Credits: Liberty Leading the People (animated version) by Hugo Araújo Daughters of the storm (painting) by Bob Venables Music: Le Chant du départ - Choeur D’Chantérac Le Chant du départ in french The Song of Departure in english WT #napoleon #france #empire