France (1815-1830)


During the Bourbon restoration period, there were two quasi-official anthems in use at the time. The “popular” anthem was “Le retour des Princes Français à Paris”, whose melody was a well-known piece of music at the time caleld “Vive Henri IV!” (the lyrics of the original song were mentioned in Tolstoi’s work “War and Peace” and the melody also appears at the end of Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” ballet). The royal anthem was “Où peut-on être mieux qu’au sein de sa famille” (“Where can we feel better than in our familly”), with words by Jean-François Marmontel and music by André Modeste Grétry (from his musical “Lucile”), used in the presence of the royal family.

Special thanks to: “Erwan” for the lyrics and some of this information.