THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, which began in 1789, was a massive upheaval in human history. The people who led it wanted to create a new kind of human society. They wanted to get rid of the aristocracy, and make all citizens equal before the law. They also wanted to abolish Christianity, and the old system of days of the week and numbering years from the birth of Christ. Instead they called for a new ‘religion of the supreme being’, and a new system of public holidays.
The revolutionary leaders took music seriously – they realised it is a very useful tool for changing the way people think and feel. In 1795 a school was set up to train bands for the new army, the National Guard. A new law was passed forcing audiences to sing republican hymns in theatres before operas were performed. Composers were encouraged to write revolutionary songs – and between 1789 and 1800 more than 1300 were written.
The revolutionary leaders built huge new parade grounds in the major cities, and organised massive musical ceremonies with names like Festival of the Supreme Being. Composers like Mehul, Gossec and Lesueur wrote marches and huge choral cantatas for these occasions. They used massive orchestras of wind instruments, which were more suitable for outdoor use.
A typical example of French revolutionary music is Gossec’s Hymn for Thermidor. This and other momentous pieces had a big influence on the French romantic composer Berlioz. He used similar massive forces in his big public works, like the Symphonie Funèbre et Triomphale.
The revolutionary leaders also encouraged a new kind of opera, which told stories of heroes resisting oppressors. They were called ‘rescue’ operas, and they had an impact on the work of Beethoven. His only opera, Fidelio, is effectively a rescue opera.
