For a musical Bastille day, discover our themed playlist, listen to the Paris Concert live, or dance to the 100% French Pop DJ set!
Bastille Day is the national day of France. Celebrated on July 14 each year, the French National Day is the anniversary of Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, a turning point of the French Revolution, as well as the Fête de la Fédération which celebrated the unity of the French people on July 14, 1790.
Celebrations are held throughout France. The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on July 14 on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in front of the President of the Republic, along with other French officials and foreign guests.
- If you are curious about Bastille Day's traditional songs
This year, to celebrate Bastille Day, we offer you a special playlist with tunes inspired by July 14. Amongst French Revolution songs, you will find Chant du Départ, a revolutionary and war song written by Étienne Nicolas Méhul (music) and Marie-Joseph Chénier (words) in 1794. This song was the official anthem of the First Empire. Nowadays, it is also the regional anthem of French Guiana.
We also invite you to discover (or rediscover) La Marseille which is the country's national anthem, written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria. In 1946, in London, the great French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt improvised a gypsy jazz version of it with the French-Italian jazzman Stéphane Grappelli. A delight for the ears!
Popular songs about July 14 include Douce France, written by Charles Trénet in 1943; the famous Song of Roland, one of the oldest French epic poem, written in 1083; as well as 14 Juillet (July 14), a song written in 1940 by the Swiss composer Gilles Jean-Villard for the occupied France and sung in 1943 by the French artist Renée Lebas.
- If you are a classical music enthousiast
On July 14, 2020, for the 8th year, Radio France, France Télévision, the city of Paris and Electrons Libre Productions will offer the biggest European show of classical music. The Paris Concert will feature the National Orchestra, the Radio France's Choir and Leaders as well as well-known international soloists and the conductor Eun Sun Kim.
Filmed at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, the show will be live on France Inter radio as well as on television for more than ten countries' channels including French channel France 2, at 3pm (EDT). You can find below the line-up
Chœur de Radio France - Martina Batič, chef de choeur
Maîtrise de Radio France - Sofi Jeannin, chef de choeur
Orchestre National de France - Eun Sun Kim, direction
Fatma Said, Sonya Yoncheva soprano
Ludovic Tézier baryton
Benjamin Bernheim ténor
Sol Gabetta violoncelle
Lisa Batiashvili violon
Lucienne Renaudin Vary trompette
Khatia Buniatishvili piano
Angélique Kidjo chant
- If you like to dance
The New York-based music curator Annie O. has launched a series of live performances by musicians on Instagram. For Bastille Day, she will release a recorded session of the French singer and DJ Charles-Baptiste performing two songs including a Christophe cover.
In the meantime, you can enjoy the video recording of Charles-Baptiste's live session at the DJ-set 100% Cocorico offered for the Institut français in Santiago For music Day on June 21: an hour of dance guaranteed!
