From 26 March to 14 July 2025, the French National Archives are organising an exhibition devoted to 150 years of close ties between music and the French Republic.

Entitled ‘Musique et République, de la Révolution au Front populaire’ [Music and the Republic, from the Revolution to the Popular Front], the exhibition will be open free of charge at the Hôtel de Soubise building in the Archives Nationales.

The exhibition highlights the links between music and the construction of the Republic, from the French Revolution to the Popular Front. The National Archives are retracing the history of this dialogue between French citizens and music. Unpublished scores found in the collections of the Archives nationales, musical instruments, political correspondence, commissions awarded to prestigious composers and many other documents tell an eventful story: that of a century and a half of musical production, education and practice, seen in the light of the republican vision.

In order to illustrate the subject of music linked to politics, and in particular in our case to the First and Second Empire, the Fondation Napoléon has agreed to lend four items from its collection.

– Drum major’s cane of the 42nd infantry regiment
– Ceremonial trumpet and flame for the Cent-gardes squadron
– Military drum, probably Imperial Guard
– Pair of drum sticks and their carrying harness

Link to the web-page of the Archives Nationales

18 March 2025