The French Revolution was full of contradictions and irony. An amusing punchline is that the “Marseillaise” by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (1760 to 1836), captain of the Rhine Army, was written in Strasbourg - in the cultural geography of France the German-Protestant inland city and the Mediterranean port metropolis of Marseille are maximum contrasts . A far more tragic one would be that the song, which at first glance seems bloodthirsty, was commissioned by the Strasbourg mayor, Baron Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich, to motivate the soldiers in the newly declared war against the Austrians. Dietrich, however, was not a radical, but a banker, a constitutional monarchist, enlightener and friend of the Muses - he was guillotined on December 29, 1793 at Robespierre's instigation.

An exhibition that is currently on view in Strasbourg traces the course of the French national anthem: For reasons of space, it is not installed in the Historical Museum, but in the Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain; previously it was at the Musée de la Révolution française in Vizille, from March 18, 2022 it will be shown in the Musée d'Histoire in Marseille. The development of the song, initially called “Chant de guerre”, is already interesting: The medical student François Mireur, who taught his volunteer group from Marseilles, played a major role in its dissemination. When they arrived in Paris, the soldiers sang their “Chant des Marseillois”, which soon became the “Marseillaise”.

After the Battle of Valmy (September 20, 1792) the song replaced the traditional "Te Deum", when the French hunters withdrew from Mainz in 1793 it was sung in homage to the fallen General Meusnier - it became the chant of difficult or glorious moments. As early as November 4, 1792, the composer André Grétry stated that the “Marseillaise” was being sung in “every show and every corner of Paris”. The beginning of an artistic career - its theatrical dimension was explored by great actresses such as Rachel, Sarah Bernhardt and Jessye Norman.

The relationship between the powerful and the “Marseillaise” was tense: for decades they wanted to replace them, Napoleon (“Veillons au Salut de l'Empire”), Louis XVIII.

(“Vive Henri IV”), Louis-Philippe (“La Parisienne”, “La Française”), but the people sang them at every revolution, 1830, 1848, 1871. Only under the Third Republic, which gave France the political plan , it became official: the audience rejected “Vive la France” by Gounod and Déroulède, the Republicans made the “Marseillaise” in 1879 their national anthem.

The revolutionary potential

Their revolutionary potential was tamed - one of the reasons for the triumphant advance of the “internationals”. Nevertheless, the career of the “Marseillaise” was international from the start, as the bewildered Goethe had to discover after the French had left Mainz: They continued to sing it. It was immediately picked up in Latin America, then in Spain, 1917 in Russia, 1934 (and 1989!) In China, and 1956 in Hungary.

The exhibition has three goals: to explain the context in which it was created, to show its (international) significance, and to take the other arts into account. She succeeds in doing this, and she tackles her abstract subject in a mostly skilful way. The context in which it was created can be illustrated well through weapons, uniforms and early prints. Pictures - paintings, posters, photos - play a central role in illustrating historical events. Sometimes it would have been nice to have the courage to write a little more text; excerpts from Alphonse de Lamartine's “Histoire des Girondins” (1847), for example, would have clarified the myth. The romantic staged Rouget de Lisle's compositional act in a romanesque style and thus inspired Isidore Pils, whose painting from 1849 shaped collective memory; one or the other oil ham provides brutally kitschy variations on the theme.

The exhibition, which is under the patronage of President Macron, aims to be educational and is aimed at several age groups. In this regard, the use of media is convincing, especially screens with headphones. They offer the opportunity to read the hymn in peace and to have various passages explained to you with a click. The gruesome passage about “unclean blood that is supposed to water our furrows” evokes a concept of the Ancien Régime, according to which non-aristocrats were “sang impur”; the song reverses a fixed formula, remains in the picture. In general, the knowledge of the connections - the military context, the ongoing enthusiasm of the people - reduces the brutality of the song somewhat.

The screens are also helpful for international echoes: You can compare the Japanese and the (anti-French) Algerian national anthems or watch snippets of videos from the Long March or from Chile's revolutionary times. Firstly, two acoustic courses reveal the music of the time of origin (e.g. Gossec and Gaveaux); here a comparison with other revolutionary songs such as the famous “Ça ira” would have been instructive. Second, takeovers are presented, including Stockhausen's swamp duck version or Gainsbourg's “Aux armes et cætera”, which caused a scandal at a Strasbourg concert in 1980 because the singer faced paratroopers. Paradoxically, the "Marseillaise" was claimed by all political camps in the twentieth century,from the Popular Front to the right-wing extremist OAS.

Its function as a national symbol today is radically different from that of 1792. Earlier meanings and functions do indeed require an exhibition in order to be remembered - also for the sake of historical relativization.

La Marseillaise.

In the Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain, Strasbourg;

until February 20, 2022. The catalog costs € 25.