"Marche Henri IV", alternatively "Vive Henri IV" or "Vive le roi Henri", is a popular French song celebrating King
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
(also known as ''Le Bon Roi Henri'', "Good King Henry"). The melody was heard of as early as 1581, when it was mentioned in the book of Christmas songs of Christophle de Bordeaux, under the name "Chant de la Cassandre". It was a ''de facto'' royal and national anthem of the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
(the kingdom did not have an official anthem).
Thoinot Arbeau
Thoinot Arbeau is the anagrammatic pen name of French cleric Jehan Tabourot (March 17, 1520 – July 23, 1595). Tabourot is most famous for his ''Orchésographie'', a study of late sixteenth-century French Renaissance social dance. He was bo ...
, in his ''Orchesographie'' (1589) gives us a music score of the air as the "Branle Couppé Cassandre". The air was adapted around 1600, presumably by Eustache du Caurroy, to fit new lyrics celebrating the then King of France. Three other verses were written for a comedy opera by Charles Collé in 1770, called ''La partie de chasse de Henri IV''. At later dates, more lyrics were added to the song.
[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
The song refers to the first
Bourbon Bourbon may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash
* Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels
* Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit
* A beer produced by Bras ...
King of France,
Henry IV (Henry III of Navarre), who had ended the
Wars of Religion
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
and restored peace to France (hence his sobriquet).
During the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the original lyrics were modified to support either the Revolutionary or Royalist causes. For instance, during the early Revolution, before the turn to republicanism (1789-1791), the anthem was renamed ''Vive Louis XVI'' (Long live
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
). The new lyrics were used by
constitutional monarchists to give praise to both the monarchy and to the core ideals of the revolution.
The anthem was also used with yet another set of lyrics during the
Bourbon Restoration period (1814-1830), under the name
Le Retour des Princes français à Paris
"Le Retour des Princes français à Paris" ("The return of the French Princes to Paris") was the ''de facto'' national anthem of France during the Bourbon Restoration. It used the melody of the then popular marching tune '' Vive Henri IV''.
Lyr ...
.
Original lyrics
In other works
*''Marche Henri IV'' was a common ''
leitmotif
A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...
'' for French royalty in several 19th-century works, such as in
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
's opera ''
Il viaggio a Reims
''Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L'albergo del giglio d'oro'' (''The Journey to Reims, or The Hotel of the Golden Fleur-de-lis'') is an operatic dramma giocoso, originally performed in three acts,Janet Johnson: ''A Lost Masterpiece Recovered'', pp. 37 ...
'' (in the finale, when
Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
is crowned) and in the final march in
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's ballet ''
The Sleeping Beauty'' (and the same march is recalled in the final scene of
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
by
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
, since it includes arrangements and adaptations from the ballet).
*It was set for piano solo by
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
in c. 1870-80 (S. 239).
*It is mentioned as one of the tunes played in Russia after the defeat of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in "
The Blizzard
"The Blizzard" (or The Snow Storm) (russian: Мете́ль, ''Metél' '') is the second of five short stories that constitute ''The Belkin Tales'' by Alexander Pushkin. The manuscript for the story was originally completed October 20, 1830. It wa ...
" by
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
.
*The anthem is also mentioned in
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
's novel ''
War and Peace
''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...
'', and actually performed by French prisoners in the
Russian film production of the same name.
*In ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'',
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
has the character of
Grantaire Grantaire () is a fictional character from the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. He is a student from the South of France and is one of the principal characters of the revolutionary group known as the Friends of the ABC. According to t ...
sing alternate Dionysian lyrics to the tune to rile his fellow
student insurrectionists.
*It is used in the soundtrack for the television series ''
Turn: Washington's Spies'', when introducing a scene involving French military forces.
See also
*
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...
References
External links
''Les Ménestriers'' recorded performance of the work with Renaissance instruments
{{Authority control
Historical national anthems
French anthems
French monarchy
Henry IV of France
Royal anthems