Partant pour la Syrie
Encyclopedia
"Partant pour la Syrie" is a French
song, the music of which was written by Hortense de Beauharnais
and the text by Alexandre de Laborde
in or about 1807.
composition of the aspirations of a crusader
knight in a style typical for the First French Empire
. Hortense indicated in her Memoires that she wrote the music when she lived at Malmaison
. During its popularity in the nineteenth century the song was arranged for numerous instruments by various composers.
The poem by Labarde was originally titled Le beau Dunois telling the story of the handsome crusader Dunois. Prior to his departure to Syria
he prays to the Virgin Mary that he will love the most beautiful woman and that he himself may be the bravest. His prayers are answered. On his return the brave warrior wins the hand of Isabelle. Love and honor prevail.
, and with the Bonapartist
s during the Bourbon Restoration
. During the Second Empire
Partant pour la Syrie was the unofficial national anthem, while La Marseillaise
was forbidden but for the very end. With the collapse of Napoleon III’s rule, the popularity of the song waned. The song was played to the emperor Napoleon III as he departed from Schloss Wilhelmshöhe to his exile in England in 1871. It remains part of the repertoire of French military music.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
song, the music of which was written by Hortense de Beauharnais
Hortense de Beauharnais
Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte , Queen Consort of Holland, was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoleon I, being the daughter of his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. She later became the wife of the former's brother, Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland, and the mother of Napoleon III, Emperor of...
and the text by Alexandre de Laborde
Alexandre de Laborde
Comte Louis-Joseph-Alexandre de Laborde was a French antiquary, liberal politician and writer, a member of the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques , under the rubric political economy.-Early years:...
in or about 1807.
Background
The song was inspired by Napoleon's Egypt campaign. It represents a chivalricChivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
composition of the aspirations of a crusader
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
knight in a style typical for the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. Hortense indicated in her Memoires that she wrote the music when she lived at Malmaison
Château de Malmaison
The Château de Malmaison is a country house in the city of Rueil-Malmaison about 12 km from Paris.It was formerly the residence of Joséphine de Beauharnais, and with the Tuileries, was from 1800 to 1802 the headquarters of the French government.-History:Joséphine de Beauharnais bought the...
. During its popularity in the nineteenth century the song was arranged for numerous instruments by various composers.
The poem by Labarde was originally titled Le beau Dunois telling the story of the handsome crusader Dunois. Prior to his departure to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
he prays to the Virgin Mary that he will love the most beautiful woman and that he himself may be the bravest. His prayers are answered. On his return the brave warrior wins the hand of Isabelle. Love and honor prevail.
Popularity
The song was popular during the remainder of the First Empire, popular with Hortense in her exileArenenberg
Arenenberg is an estate with a small chateau, Schloss Arenenberg, in the municipality of Salenstein at the shore of Lake Constance in Thurgau, Switzerland that is famous as the final domicile of Hortense de Beauharnais. Today it houses the Napoleonmuseum...
, and with the Bonapartist
Bonapartist
In French political history, Bonapartism has two meanings. In a strict sense, this term refers to people who aimed to restore the French Empire under the House of Bonaparte, the Corsican family of Napoleon Bonaparte and his nephew Louis...
s during the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
. During the Second Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
Partant pour la Syrie was the unofficial national anthem, while La Marseillaise
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song, originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" was written and composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792. The French National Convention adopted it as the Republic's anthem in 1795...
was forbidden but for the very end. With the collapse of Napoleon III’s rule, the popularity of the song waned. The song was played to the emperor Napoleon III as he departed from Schloss Wilhelmshöhe to his exile in England in 1871. It remains part of the repertoire of French military music.
Text
- Partant pour la Syrie,
- Le jeune et beau Dunois,
- Venait prier Marie
- De bénir ses exploits :
- Faites, Reine immortelle,
- Lui dit-il en partant,
- Que j'aime la plus belle
- Et sois le plus vaillant.
- Il trace sur la pierre
- Le serment de l'honneur,
- Et va suivre à la guerre
- Le Comte son seigneur ;
- Au noble vœu fidèle,
- Il dit en combattant :
- Amour à la plus belle,
- Honneur au plus vaillant.
- On lui doit la Victoire.
- Vraiment, dit le seigneur ;
- Puisque tu fais ma gloire
- Je ferai ton bonheur.
- De ma fille Isabelle,
- Sois l'Epoux à l'instant,
- Car elle est la plus belle,
- Et toi le plus vaillant.
- A l'Autel de Marie,
- Ils contractent tous deux
- Cette union Chérie
- Qui seule rend heureux.
- Chacun dans la chapelle
- Disait en les voyant :
- Amour à la plus belle,
- Honneur au plus vaillant.
English Translation
- Going to SyriaOttoman SyriaOttoman Syria is a European reference to the area that during European Renaissance from the late 15th to early 18th century was called the Levant within the early period of the Ottoman Empire, the Orient until the early 19th century, and Greater Syria until 1918...
- The young and beautiful Dunois
- When he went to ask the Virgin Mary,
- His heroic deeds to bless,
- Do you, immortal Queen
- He said on his leaving,
- I love the most beautiful
- And am the bravest
- I love the most beautiful
- And am the bravest
- He wrote on stone
- The oath of honor
- And followed into war
- The earl, his lord.
- The noble desire faithfulness
- He said to his fighter:
- Love the most beautiful
- Honor to the brave
- Love the most beautiful
- Honor to the brave
- We owe you the victory
- Verily! says the lord,
- Since you have established my glory,
- I will make you happy!
- My daughter Isabella
- Will be your wife
- For she is the most beautiful
- And you the bravest
- For she is the most beautiful
- And you the bravest
- At the altar of Mary,
- They pledged both
- This dear union
- Which makes the lonely happy.
- Everyone in the chapel
- Said seeing them:
- Love the most beautiful
- Honor to the brave
- Love the most beautiful
- Honor to the brave.