La Marseillaise

a French revolutionary song and the French national anthem.

The music and lyrics of the “Marseillaise” were written by C. J. Rouget de Lisle in 1792, in Strasbourg. It was originally called “War Song for the Army of the Rhine.” It spread quickly in the Republican Army and reached Marseille, where it became known as the “March of the Men of Marseille,” or the “Marseillaise,” and was later brought to Paris. Banned during the Restoration and Second Empire, the Third Republic made it the national anthem; its musical text was officially established in 1887.

In Russia during the 1880’s and 1890’s, a revolutionary song based on the melody of the “Marseillaise” and known as the “Workers’ Marseillaise” became popular among workers and the intelligentsia. As a result of some intonational, rhythmical, and structural changes, it became in essence a new song. The text of the “Workers’ Marseillaise,” which is a separate poetic work in its own right, was written by P. L. Lavrov (published 1875 in the newspaper Vpered, no. 12, July 1); it has been performed with some alterations.