This edition was prepared by Philip Legge — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Hymne à la France
Staff Notation • Secular, Hymns
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Hymne à la France by Hector Berlioz — Lyrics
Ô belle France, ô noble enfant du ciel!
Chère patrie, ô tendre et bonne mère,
Toi qui n’as point ta pareille sur terre,
Et dont le nom est plus doux que le miel,
Jusqu’au moment où doit fuir l’existence,
Sois notre amour et l’objet de nos chants!
Répétons tous en chœur ces mots touchants:
Dieu protège la France! Dieu protège la France!
Du plus beau lys l’éclatante blancheur
N’égale pas celle de ta figure.
À pleines mains sur ton front la nature
A répandu la grâce et la fraîcheur.
Dans tes yeux bleus brille l’intelligence,
Et la gaieté de ses rubis en feux,
Divin bandeau, couronne tes chevaux.
Dieu protège la France! Dieu protège la France!
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About Hymne à la France
Berlioz’s Hymne à la France is a powerful setting of a French secular text. Written for a large choir of SSTTBB, it calls for a substantial vocal force to convey its patriotic message. The music opens with a grandeur that immediately evokes the spirit of a national anthem. The text itself is a fervent apostrophe to France, describing her as a noble child of heaven, a tender mother, and unparalleled on earth. It praises her beauty, intelligence, and the grace bestowed upon her by nature. The choir is urged to repeat the touching refrain: 'God protect France!' The piece builds to a climactic expression of love and devotion to the homeland, culminating in a fervent plea for divine protection.
