1794: Les enfants de la patrie

1794, Paris. At the height of the Reign of Terror, the pianist and composer Hélène de Montgeroult stands accused before the revolutionary authorities. According to a story that has become part of musical legend, she escapes the guillotine by improvising on La Marseillaise, transforming a patriotic song into a demonstration of artistic brilliance.

As France is reshaped by revolution, musicians find themselves navigating a rapidly changing world. Aristocratic salons give way to public festivals, revolutionary songs fill the streets, and figures such as Hélène de Montgeroult and Joseph de Bologne must adapt to new political realities. Amid upheaval, violence and uncertainty, music becomes a powerful tool for expressing collective identity, civic ideals and national belonging.

Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. For the next eight programmes, historian Simon Schama is in the chair, as together they explore the rich musical world of the Classical era.

Producer: Zerlina Vulliamy
Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford
Story Consultant: Kate Leys
Series Editor for BBC Audio: Emma Harding

Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan.

MUSIC DETAILS

Liszt (Rouget de Lisle), La Marseillaise
Leslie Howard (piano)

Montgeroult, Etude no. 110
Clare Hammond (piano)

Rousseau, Le devin du village (J'ai perdu tout mon bonheur)
Eva Kirchner (voice), Alpe Andria Ensemble

Ladré, Ah! Ça ira
Edith Piaf (voice)

Berlioz (Rouget de Lisle), La Marseillaise
Roberto Alagna (tenor), Royal Opera House Orchestra, Choeur De L'Armee Francaise, Maîtrise De Paris, Choeur De chambre Les Eléments. Bertrand de Billy (conductor)

Bologne, Violin Concerto in A major, Op. 5'2 3rd mvmt: Rondeau
Rachel Barton Pine (violin), Encore Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Hege (conductor)

Montgeroult, Etude no. 107
Clare Hammond (piano)

Poulenc, Dialogues des Carmelites (Salve Regina)
Sally Matthews (soprano), Orf Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Bertrand de Billy (conductor)

Beethoven, Fidelio (O Welche Lust)
Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)

Gainsbourg, Aux Armes et Cætera

To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Key Changes."