Thursday 22 June 2023

Marseillaise manuscript

This copy of the Marseillaise from the Revolutionary era was posted on Facebook by Chelli Autographes on 20th June, presumably prior to be offered for sale:

                                       

Manuscripts which features the musical score as well as the words of the Marseillaise are very rare. 

The post mentions  Serge Gainsbourg's notorious 1979 reggae version of the Marseillaise, "Aux armes et cætera" which was widely condemned as disrespectful. According to Wikipedia:

In 1981, Gainsbourg purchased the original manuscript of "La Marseillaise" at an auction, which was signed by the composer. He then showed critics that his version was, in fact, closer to the original than any other recorded version as the manuscript clearly shows the words "Aux armes et cætera..." for the chorus as author Rouget de l'Isle did not bother writing the full chorus each time, preferring to shorten it with the word etc..

The current manuscript follows the same convention.

Serge Gainsbourg _AUX ARMES ET CAETERA (1979) - YouTube


The website and blog of the autograph dealer, David Chelli, has all sorts of interesting pictures and posts:
Chelli Autographes | Documents authentiques | Collection Autographes (chelli-autographes.com) -

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