Biography
A poet, violinist, and singer by trade, Rouget de Lisle achieved notable popularity, yet his committed monarchist stance resulted in repeated imprisonment and official disfavor, above all during the empire and the restoration years. While serving in the military he wrote "Hymne a la liberte" together with "Chant de guerre pour l'armie du Rhin," the second of these eventually shortened to the title "Marseillaise." The balance of his life unfolded amid poverty and continued disfavor until a family in Choisy-le-Roi extended support in 1830. The Marseillaise received formal status as the French national anthem in 1879. Both Tchaikovsky and Schumann referenced Rouget de Lisle, the former within his "Overture of 1812" and the latter in "Die beiden Grenadiere."