In the patriotic tableau L'offrande à la liberté, François-Joseph Gossec offers the first-ever orchestration of the French national anthem. Composed a few months after the premiere of Chant pour l'armée du Rhin, the original title of Rouget de Lisle’s work, Gossec’s version for the Opéra played an important role in the metamorphosis of what was a simple song composed for a specific, local event into a national anthem, emblematic of the Revolution. This operatic Marseillaise was performed over a hundred times between 1792 and 1799 at the Opéra and in various other theatres, as well as outdoors for revolutionary ceremonies.

Written for choir (dessus, hautes-contre, tailles and basses), soloist (haute-contre/tenor) and orchestra (piccolos, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, timpani ad lib, and strings), Gossec’s arrangement is particularly original in that it features a different orchestration for each verse, thus amplifying the dramatic force of the lyrics.

The score, preceded by a well-documented preface and critical apparatus in French and English, and the keyboard reduction by Louis-Emmanuel Jadin (CAH.285-RC) are based on the Imbault edition of 1792.