Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1992)

From 1944 until its break-up in 1992, the Soviet Union adopted a new anthem "Gimn Sovetskogo Soyuza" (Hymn of the Soviet Union). It has since been readopted as the official anthem of Russia, but with new words to reflect its new democratic nature.

In 1936 Stalin decided a change in national anthem was needed, believing the lyrics of the "Internationale" spoke of work that was yet to be done by the workers of the world; Stalin, however, believed that the worker's ultimate goal has been achieved. (Also that "The Internationale" was written by non-Russians was an issue for him.) This task was delayed by the outbreak of World War II, however, during the heat of the war in 1942, money was set aside to create a new anthem. On June, 18, 1943 the deputy prime minister of the USSR Marshal Kliment Voroshilov and Party's Secretary Alexander Shcherbakov for about two hours had been instructing about 20 soviet poets and composers what anthem they should create: “Its lyrics must live decades at least, and maybe, and even for sure, hundreds years. Its music must be easy to understand, expressive, plain for Russians as well as for Kalmyks. People will sing in both in joy and in misfortune."

Two war reporters Captain Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (also a popular children's author) and Major Gabriel Ureklyan (being an Armenian he used the name “El-Reghistan”) were not invited to visit Voroshiliv’s lecture about future anthem. One night El-Reghistan in his sleep saw himself with his friend Sergey Mikhalkov writing these words of anthem: “The noble union of free peoples / Great Russia has welded for ever!” In early morning he came in a great hurry to Sergey and they finished the first stanza together.

On September, 20 they were called into the Kremlin. Then the text was corrected by Stalin (who has written poetry in his youth). The fist variant of text, officially adopted on September 26, had only two stanzas and a refrain, different from the one that was eventually approved for use. But after the meeting with Foreign Ministers of the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition in Mo scow, at night on September 27 Stalin by phone asked Mikhalkov to write the third, “militant” stanza. After the text was ready work was begun on the music. Mikhalkov and Reghistan considered that the music must be created by the composers S.S. Prokofiev and D.D. Shostakovich. But, on November 4 Stalin again telephoned to Mikhalkov and told him to write new “reserve” refrain in Alexandr Alexandrov's hymn meter: “Keep present stanzas and in new chorus emphasize that our country is soviet and socialist”. Alexandrov's melody was already in use as the anthem of the Bolshevik party, and Stalin perhaps had in mind to use this melody as the anthem, holding the contest so that lyrics could be written that matched the tune.

Some of the failed entrants of the competition went on to write anthems of the various republics, like Tikhon Khrennikov (whose entry became the anthem of the Russian region of Omsk, with new lyrics); Boris Alexandrov (son of the winning composer), whose entry became the anthem of the Transdneiester Republic; Pavel Tychina, who later wrote the lyrics for the Ukrainian SSR anthem; Samed Vurgun, who later wrote the Azerbaijan SSR anthem lyrics; and the composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who was advised by Stalin to collaborate with Aram Khachaturyan (another failed entrant, and the composer of the Armenia SSR anthem), their joint venture was "The Song of the Red Army".

Also, from the period of 1944-1955, most Soviet republics adopted their own anthems (links are below). Only Russia didn’t get its own anthem, however party authorities chose the lyrics of Stepan Shchipachev as the basis for further work and the famous composer Dmitri Shostakovich wrote music “Hymn of the RSFSR”, yet it was never adopted. After the death of Stalin in 1953 (as his name appeared in the lyrics of the anthem at the time), it was proposed to create a new anthem for the nation, but this never came about. Instead, it was performed without words until 1976, when, before a hockey matchup between the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia in Montreal, Canada, the local anthem singer in Montreal, Roger Doucet, found a copy of the old lyrics and requested the Russian Department at the Université de Montréal "fix them up" so he would have lyrics to sing. The Soviet government officially adopted Doucet's words (without recognition to Doucet or the Université de Montréal) in 1977, which were used until the Soviet Union ceased to exist in the early 1990s.

A unique property of the Soviet anthem is how many languages there are official versions of. It was the wish of the government to have the lyrics known not only all across the USSR, where dozens of different languages are spoken, but all across the world.

Hymn of Imperial Russia click here and click here (composer)

Patriotic Song of Russia click here

Hymn of the Russian Federation click here

The postcard above shows the composer of the Hymn of the Soviet Union, Alexandr Vasilievich Alexandrov. Below is Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov, the lyricist.

Music Philately- Microphones on Stamps

A microphone colloquially called a mic or mike is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1876, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, tape recorders, karaoke systems, hearing aids, motion picture production, live and recorded audio engineering, FRS radios, megaphones, in radio and television broadcasting and in computers for recording voice, speech recognition, VoIP, and for non-acoustic purposes such as ultrasonic checking or knock sensors.

Most microphones today use electromagnetic induction (dynamic microphone), capacitance change (condenser microphone), piezoelectric generation, or light modulation to produce an electrical voltage signal from mechanical vibration.

The sensitive transducer element of a microphone is called its element or capsule. A complete microphone also includes a housing, some means of bringing the signal from the element to other equipment, and often an electronic circuit to adapt the output of the capsule to the equipment being driven. Microphones are referred to by their transducer principle, such as condenser, dynamic, etc., and by their directional characteristics. Sometimes other characteristics such as diaphragm size, intended use or orientation of the principal sound input to the principal axis (end- or side-address) of the microphone are used to describe the microphone.

Musicians on Stamp- Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March 1685 [O.S. 21 March] – 28 July 1750) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he did not introduce new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France.

Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, the St Matthew Passion, the St John Passion, the Magnificat, The Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English and French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now regarded as the supreme composer of the Baroque, and as one of the greatest of all time.

The stamp above was issued by China (a set of four composers featuring Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn and Bach) on August 2010.

"Le retour des Princes Français à Paris"

During the Bourbon restoration period, there were two quasi-official anthems in use at the time. The "popular" anthem was "Le retour des Princes Français à Paris", whose melody, composed by François-Henri Castil-Blaze, was a well-known piece of music at the time caleld "Vive Henri IV!" (the lyrics of the original song were mentioned in Tolstoi's work "War and Peace" and the melody also appears at the end of Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty" ballet). The royal anthem was "Où peut-on être mieux qu'au sein de sa famille" ("Where can we feel better than in our familly"), with words by Jean-François Marmontel and music by André Modeste Grétry (from his musical "Lucile"), used in the presence of the royal family. The anthem was in use from 1815 to 1830.

François-Henri-Joseph Blaze, known as Castil-Blaze (1 December 1784 – 11 December 1857), was a French musicologist, music critic, composer, and music editor.

Blaze was born and grew up in Cavaillon. He went to Paris to study law, but also to learn music, at the Conservatoire de Paris. After having passed several more years in Vaucluse (southeastern France), Castil-Blaze moved back to Paris.

A large part of his activities consisted of adapting French and foreign opera for different stages in French provinces. In these cases, Castil-Blaze adapted the libretto as well as the music. This arranging work was highly criticized, but Castil-Blaze claimed that this permitted part of the public to become familiar with opera.

Castil-Blaze is mostly known as a music critic. Beginning 7 December 1820, he published Musical Chronicles in the Journal des débats. In these irregularly-published chronicles (about 30 per year), Castil-Blaze seemed to take certain liberties. Most of the chronicles criticized the lyric works, but other were dedicated to thoughts about music, to composers' necrologies (Weber in 1826, Beethoven in 1828), or to concert reviews. Castil-Blaze wrote for the Journal des Débats until 1832, when he joined le Constitutionnel; he also collaborated in Fétis's Revue musicale (Paris, 1827), as well as other periodicals or reviews. He is without a doubt, in France, the first music critic to have studied music.

He is the author of various books and articles on the theory of music, music history, and the history of the theater. He started a series of three works dedicated to three great lyric theaters of Paris: Opéra National de Paris, the Comédie-Italienne, and the Opéra-Comique. He was only able to finish and publish the first two before his death; the third remains in manuscript and is at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Today, these works arouse the interest of historians, but also their distrust, because they contain numerous anecdotes that cannot always be verified.

As a composer, Castil-Blaze mostly made arrangements, but he was also the author of several original works, particularly of sacred music, of which there are two high masses. Finally, he worked as an editor, first for his own literary and musical works, but he was not limited to this: he was among the editors of the works of Beethoven. He died in Paris in 1857.

Next: French anthem in use (1830-1848)

The postcard above shows the bust of Francois Castil-Blaze, the anthem composer.

Music Philately- Compact Disc (CD's) on Stamps

A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982. In 2010, they remain the standard physical storage medium for audio. Standard CDs have a diameter of 120 mm and can hold up to 80 minutes of uncompressed audio (700 MB of data). The Mini CD has various diameters ranging from 60 to 80 mm; they are sometimes used for CD singles or device drivers, storing up to 24 minutes of audio.

The technology was eventually adapted and expanded to encompass data storage CD-ROM, write-once audio and data storage CD-R, rewritable media CD-RW, Video Compact Discs (VCD), Super Video Compact Discs (SVCD), PhotoCD, PictureCD, CD-i, and Enhanced CD. CD-ROMs and CD-Rs remain widely used technologies in the computer industry. The CD and its extensions are successful: in 2004, worldwide sales of CD audio, CD-ROM, and CD-R reached about 30 billion discs. By 2007, 200 billion CDs had been sold worldwide.

The Compact Disc is a spin-off of Laserdisc technology. Sony first publicly demonstrated an optical digital audio disc in September 1976. In September 1978, they demonstrated an optical digital audio disc with a 150 minute playing time, and with specifications of 44,056 Hz sampling rate, 16-bit linear resolution, cross-interleaved error correction code, that were similar to those of the Compact Disc introduced in 1982. Technical details of Sony's digital audio disc were presented during the 62nd AES Convention, held on March 13–16, 1979, in Brussels.[2] On March 8, 1979 Philips publicly demonstrated a prototype of an optical digital audio disc at a press conference called "Philips Introduce Compact Disc" in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Later in 1979, Sony and Philips Consumer Electronics (Philips) set up a joint task force of engineers to design a new digital audio disc. Led by Kees Schouhamer Immink and Toshitada Doi, the research pushed forward laser and optical disc technology that began independently by Philips and Sony in 1977 and 1975, respectively. After a year of experimentation and discussion, the taskforce produced the Red Book, the Compact Disc standard. Philips contributed the general manufacturing process, based on video Laserdisc technology. Philips also contributed eight-to-fourteen modulation (EFM), which offers both a long playing time and a high resilience against disc defects such as scratches and fingerprints, while Sony contributed the error-correction method, CIRC. The Compact Disc Story, told by a former member of the taskforce, gives background information on the many technical decisions made, including the choice of the sampling frequency, playing time, and disc diameter. The taskforce consisted of around four to eight persons, though according to Philips, the Compact Disc was thus "invented collectively by a large group of people working as a team."

The first test CD was pressed in Hannover, Germany, by the Polydor Pressing Operations plant in 1981. The disc contained a recording of Richard Strauss's Eine Alpensinfonie (in English language, An Alpine Symphony), played by the Berlin Philharmonic and conducted by Herbert von Karajan. The first public demonstration was on the BBC television program Tomorrow's World when The Bee Gees' album Living Eyes (1981) was played. In August 1982 the real pressing was ready to begin in the new factory, not far from the place where Emil Berliner had produced his first gramophone record 93 years earlier. By now, Deutsche Grammophon, Berliner's company and the publisher of the Strauss recording, had become a part of PolyGram. The first CD to be manufactured at the new factory was The Visitors (1981) by ABBA.[10] The first album to be released on CD was Billy Joel's 52nd Street, that reached the market alongside Sony's CD player CDP-101 on October 1, 1982 in Japan. Early the following year on March 2, 1983 CD players and discs (16 titles from CBS Records) were released in the United States and other markets. This event is often seen as the "Big Bang" of the digital audio revolution. The new audio disc was enthusiastically received, especially in the early-adopting classical music and audiophile communities and its handling quality received particular praise. As the price of players gradually came down, the CD began to gain popularity in the larger popular and rock music markets. The first artist to sell a million copies on CD was Dire Straits, with its 1985 album Brothers in Arms. The first major artist to have his entire catalogue converted to CD was David Bowie, whose 15 studio albums were made available by RCA Records in February 1985, along with four Greatest Hits albums. In 1988, 400 million CDs were manufactured by 50 pressing plants around the world.

The CD was planned to be the successor of the gramophone record for playing music, rather than primarily as a data storage medium. From its origins as a musical format, CDs have grown to encompass other applications. In June 1985, the computer readable CD-ROM (read-only memory) and, in 1990, CD-Recordable were introduced, also developed by both Sony and Philips. The CD's compact format has largely replaced the audio cassette player in new automobile applications, and recordable CDs are an alternative to tape for recording music and copying music albums without defects introduced in compression used in other digital recording methods. Other newer video formats such as DVD and Blu-ray have used the same form factor as CDs, and video players can usually play audio CDs as well. With the advent of the MP3 in the 2000s, the sales of CDs has dropped in seven out of the last eight years. In 2008, large label CD sales dropped 20%, although independent and DIY music sales may be tracking better according to figures released March 30, 2009.

"Partant pour la Syrie" (Going to Syria)

Originally written as a love song, the melody was attributed to Hortense de Beauharnais, queen of the Netherlands and mother of Emperor Napoleon III, the French ruler of this time, but musicologist Arthur Pougin determined the true author of the melody was Louis-François-Philippe Drouet, flutist at the court of Louis king de Hollande, although it was a favourite of Queen Hortense. The words were written by Alexandre de Laborde.

The song was a favourite of the Bonapartists during the times before the Second Empire (when this was used as the anthem), and was also popular during the First Empire. The song was so prevalent during the days of the second Empire, it became known as the national anthem (and is still popular with French soldiers today). It was in use from 1852 t0 1870.

Drouet, Louis Francois Philippe, the famous flute virtuoso, was born in Amsterdam in 1792. his father, a refugee, left France, of which country he was native, because of the turmoil occasioned by the Revolution. As a child Drouet was regarded as a flute-playing prodigy. He appears to have been self-taught. It is stated that his serious study of the flute began in 1807 after a great success at a concert of Rode’s in Amsterdam. As early as 1808, when only sixteen years of age, he received an appointment as solo flutist to the King of Holland; three years later he accepted an invitation from Napoleon I to become Imperial Court Flutist at Paris.

He soon acquired continental celebrity status and made many successful concert journeys through Europe. Although the tone he produced was not large, his general technic was excellent and his double-tonguing remarkably brilliant and characteristic.

In 1815 he came to London and established a flute-making business. This he carried on until 1819 when it was given up owing, it has been stated, to the number of bogus “Drouet” flutes put upon the market by trade rivals.

Drouet made his first appearance at the Philharmonic, London, on March 25, 1816. he played at other places in the British capital in 1817, 1829, 1830 and 1832. The 1829 visit was made in company with Mendelssohn who joined the flutist in the concert venture. The first appearance of this celebrity in London was made in 1841-1842, at Buckingham Palace, on which occasion he played before Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

During his active career as a flute virtuoso Drouet was responsible for a vast amount of flute music – concertos, fantasias, studies, duets, trios, etc., etc. His Robin Adair, God Save the Queen, and Rule Britannia enjoyed wide popularity. It is stated that he assisted Queen Hortense in composing the music to the song Partant pour la Syrie. Captain Gordon (he of the Boehm – Gordon controversy) and the King of Holland were two of his pupils.

In 1836 in succession to Kaspard Kummer, he became Chapel Master to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and thenceforth his wandering about Europe was restricted. For years little was heard from him outside of Germany. He did not adopt the Boehm flute, indeed, it has often been said that he was opposed to its use, but no evidence has yet been adduced to prove this. On the contrary, as may be seen hereunder, when he became acquainted with the Boehm he was most favourably impressed with its value as a musical instrument.

Next: French anthem in use (1795, abolished 1799, restored 1870)

The first day cover above features Francois Drouet, issued on February 26, 1989, to commemorate the French Revolution.

"Le Chant des Girondins"

The words for the verses of "Le Chant des Girondins" (The Song of Girondists), used during the Second Republic, came from the drama "Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge" by the famous writer Alexandre Dumas with Auguste Maquet. The lines of the refrain were borrowed from "Roland à Roncevaux", a song written in Strasbourg by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, the author of "La Marseillaise". The anthem was in use from 1848-1852.

Alphonse Varney (1 December 1811 – 7 February 1879) was a French conductor, mainly of opera. His son was the composer Louis Varney who studied music with his father. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire including counterpoint with Reicha.

Varney conducted the Théâtre de Ghent in 1835, followed by the Théâtre Historique, the Théâtre Lyrique (which he left in 1852 to spend more time composing, and conducting in Ghent), the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens from 1857 (from 1862-64 he was also director and staged works by Offenbach), the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux from 1865-1878, and the Société Sainte-Cecile in Bordeaux. He was also invited to conduct the 'French Opera Season' in New Orleans in 1844.

Varney composed a well-known Chant des Girondins, written for the play Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge by Alexandre Dumas. He also composed the music for a drame-lyrique by Alexandre Dumas, fils in 1848 entitled Atala. His opéra comique La ferme de Kilmoor (first performance 27 October 1852 at the Théâtre-Lyrique) was savaged by the critics. Other stage works by Varney include Le moulin joli (1849), L'opéra au camp (1854), La polka des sabots (1859) and Un leçon d'amour (1868). He retired in 1878.

Alexandre Dumas, born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870) was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world. Many of his novels, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne were originally serialized. He also wrote plays and magazine articles and was a prolific correspondent.

Next: French anthem in use (1852-1870).

Above is a first day cover featuring the anthem lyricist Alexander Dumas issued on April 11,1970.

Maria Clara on Stamps

María Clara, whose full name is María Clara de los Santos, is the mestiza heroine in Noli Me Tangere, a novel by José Rizal, the national hero of the Republic of the Philippines. Maria Clara is the childhood sweetheart and fiancée of Noli Me Tangere's hero, Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin, the son of Don Rafael Ibarra. Although raised as Santiago "Kapitan Tiyago" de los Santos’s daughter, Maria Clara is the illegitimate offspring of Father Dámaso, a Spanish friar, and Doña Pía Alba. Doña Alba is the wife of Kapitan Tiyago, who are both native Filipinos.

Father Damaso (also known as Padre Damaso) is known to Maria Clara as a godfather. Maria Clara never met her mother because Doña Alba died during the delivery of her daughter. She grew under the guidance and supervision of Tía Isabél, Kapitan Tiyago's cousin. While her boyfriend Crisostomo Ibarra was travelling in Europe, Kapitan Tiyago sent her to the Beaterio de Santa Clara, a convent where she developed femininity under religion. Later in the novel, Maria Clara discovers the truth that Father Damaso is her biological father.

In the novel, Maria Clara is regarded as the most beautiful and widely celebrated lady in the town of San Diego. Maria Clara, being religious, the epitome of virtue, “demure and self-effacing” and endowed with beauty, grace, and charm, was promoted by Rizal as the “ideal image” of a Filipino woman who deserves to be placed on the “pedestal of male honor”. In Chapter 5 of Noli Me Tangere, Maria Clara and her traits were further described by Rizal as an “Oriental decoration” with “downcast” eyes and a “pure soul”.

The stamp above of Maria Clara was issued on 1952.

Eraño Manalo on Stamps

On April 23, 2010, The Philippine Postal Corporation issued a stamp of Eraño G. Manalo, Executive Minister of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC). It is classified as a “Special” kind of issue with a denomination of P 7.00 and quantity of 100,000 pieces.

Eraño de Guzman Manalo (January 2, 1925 – August 31, 2009), who is also known as Ka Erdy, was the second Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo, serving from 1963 until 2009. He took over the administration of the church after the death of his father, Felix Manalo, in 1963. He was instrumental in the propagation and expansion of the church internationally. He previously held office as the General Treasurer of the church, and as a District Minister of Manila.

He was the fifth child of Felix Y. Manalo and Honorata de Guzman. His name came from the word "New Era" which his father described as a "New Christian Era" when the Iglesia ni Cristo was established. On January 17, 1955, Ka Erdy married Christina Villanueva with who he has six children- Eduardo, Felix Nathaniel, Marco Eraño, Lolita, Erlinda and Liberty.

Manalo passed away on August 31, 2009 at the age of 84.

"La Parisienne"

Upon his becoming king in 1830, Louis Philippe, Duc d'Orléans (the "citizen-king") asked Casimir Delavigne to write a new anthem, to replace the popular "La Marseillaise" used by the republicans. "La Parisienne" (The Parisian) was the result and was the official anthem during Louis Philippe's reign. The music was composed by Francois Auber. The anthem was in use from 1830 to 1848.

Daniel François Esprit Auber (29 January 1782 – 12/13 May 1871) was a French composer.

The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments. His first teacher was the Tirolean composer, Josef Alois Ladurner (1769 – 1851). At the age of 20 Auber was sent to London for business training, but he was obliged to leave England in 1804 when the Treaty of Amiens was breached in 1804.

In 1813 the unfavourable reception of his one-act debut opera Le Séjour militaire put an end for some years to his attempts as composer. But his failure in business, and the death of his father in 1819, compelled him once more to turn to music. He produced another opera, Le Testament et les billets-doux (1819), which was no better received than the former. But he persevered, and the next year was rewarded by the complete success of La Bergère châtelaine, an opera in three acts.

This was the first in a long series of brilliant successes. In 1822 began his long association with librettist Eugène Scribe. Their first opera, Leicester, shows evidence of the influence of Gioacchino Rossini in its musical style. Auber soon developed his own voice, however: light, vivacious, graceful, and melodious--characteristically French. Le Maçon (1825) was his first major triumph, staying in the repertory until the 20th century, with 525 performances at the Opéra-Comique alone.

Auber achieved another triumph in La Muette de Portici, also known as Masaniello after its hero. Produced in Paris in 1828, it rapidly became a European favorite, and the foundation work of a new genre, grand opera, that was consolidated by Rossini's Guillaume Tell the following year. Its characteristic features are a private drama staged in the context of a significant historical event in which the chorus is dramatically engaged as a representative of the people, varied and piquant musical textures, grandiloquent marches, spectacular scenic effects and a statutory ballet. The duet from La Muette, Amour sacré de la patrie (meaning "Sacred Love of the Homeland"), was welcomed as a new Marseillaise; its performance at Brussels on 25 August 1830, in which Adolphe Nourrit sang the leading tenor role, engendered a riot that became the signal for the Belgian Revolution that drove out the Dutch. La Muette broke ground also in its use of a ballerina in a leading role (the eponymous mute), and includes long passages of mime music.

Official and other dignities testified to the public appreciation of Auber's works. In 1829 he was elected a member of the Institute. Fra Diavolo,which premiered on 28 January 1830, was his most successful opera. That same year, 1830, he was named director of the court concerts. Next year, on 20 June, 1831, he had another big success, with Le Philtre,starring the great tenor, Adolphe Nourrit. The libretto was translated into Italian and set by Donizetti as L'elisir d'amore, one of the most successful comic operas of all time.

Two years later, on 27 February 1833, Gustave III, his second grand opera, also triumphed and stayed in the repertory for years. The libretto was to be used twice more, first by Saverio Mercadante for Il reggente, with the action transferred to Scotland, and, next by Giuseppe Verdi, as Un ballo in maschera. He enjoyed several more successes, all at the Opéra-Comique. These were Le Cheval de bronze (1835), L'Ambassadrice (1836), Le Domino noir (1837), Les Diamants de la couronne (1841) and La part du diable (1843).

In the meantime, in 1842, at the wish of King Louis Philippe, he succeeded Cherubini as director of the Conservatoire. Auber was also a member of the Legion of Honour from 1825, and attained the rank of commander in 1847. That year also saw the premiere of Haydée, another opéra comique, even though it was on a serious subject. The tenor lead in Haydée was sung by the same Gustave Roger who, two years later, created the title role in Meyerbeer's Le Prophète at the Opéra. Napoleon III made Auber his Imperial Maître de Chapelle in 1857.

In his later years, Auber's output slowed down considerably. The 1850s were marked by Manon Lescaut, an opéra comique with a tragic end (1856), and revisions of Le Cheval de bronze and Fra Diavolo (both 1857). He had one major success in the 1860s: Le Premier Jour de bonheur (Opéra comique, 1868). Despite his slowdown in composing, he remained a well-loved figure, known for witty sayings and personal generosity. He survived the German siege of Paris in 1870-71, but died during the upheaval of the Paris Commune on 12 or 13 May 1871.

Next: French anthem in use (1848-1852)

The maximum card above was issued on March 6, 1971, Auber's 100th death anniversary.

"Le Chant du Départ" (Song of Departure)

Upon becoming the head of the French government in 1799, Napoleon abolished "La Marseillaise" as the national anthem (possibly because it was a relic of the revolution, possibly because Napoleon did not like the author Rouget de Lisle), and another song, which was also popular during the revolution, "Le Chant du Départ" (Song of Departure) came to be used as the national anthem of the time.

Originally titled "Hymn de la Liberté" (Hymn of Freedom), but given its new title by Robspierre, is an epic tableau consisting of seven verses, each one sung by a different character: a wife, a mother, children, warriors, old men, etc. The words were written by Marie-Joseph Chénier and the music composed by Étienne Méhul, the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution. He was also the first composer to be called a "Romantic". The anthem was in use from 1799 to1815.

Despite it no longer being the official anthem of France, the song is still popular with the military fo France today. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing used it as his campaign song when he was campaigning for French President in 1974, and, as president, would often have troops play the song.

Next: French anthem in use (1815-1830)

The first day cover above features Étienne Méhul, anthem composer, issued on May 25, 1963.

Music Philately- Headphones on Stamps

Headphones area pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker, with a way of holding them close to a user's ears and a means of connecting them to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio or CD player. They are also known as stereo phones, headsets or, colloquially cans. The in-ear versions are known as earphones or ear buds. In the context of telecommunication, the term headset is used to describe a combination of headphone and microphone used for two-way communication, for example with a telephone.

The telephone earpiece was common around the beginning of the 20th century. Headphones developed from the earpiece. Sensitive headphones were the only way to listen to audio signals before amplifiers were developed. Very sensitive headphones such as those manufactured by Brandes around 1919 were commonly used for early radio work. These early headphones used moving iron drivers, either single ended or balanced armature. The requirement for high sensitivity meant no damping was used, thus the sound quality was crude. They also had very poor comfort compared to modern types, usually having no padding and too often having excessive clamping force to the head. Their impedance varied; headphones used in telegraph and telephone work had an impedance of 75 ohms. Those used with early wireless radio had to be more sensitive and were made with more turns of finer wire; impedance of 1,000 to 2,000 ohms was common, which suited both crystal sets and triode receivers.

In early powered radios, the headphone was part of the vacuum tube's plate circuit and had dangerous voltages on it. It was normally connected directly to the positive high voltage battery terminal, and the other battery terminal was securely earthed. The use of bare electrical connections meant that users could be shocked if they touched the bare headphone connections while adjusting an uncomfortable headset.
Headphones can be used both with fixed equipment such as CD or DVD players, home theater, personal computers and with portable devices (e.g. digital audio player/mp3 player, mobile phone, etc.). Cordless headphones are not connected via a wire, receiving a radio or infrared signal encoded using a radio or infrared transmission link, like FM, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. These are actually made of powered receiver systems of which the headphone is only a component, these types of cordless headphones are being used more frequently with events such as a silent disco or Silent Gig.

In the professional audio sector headphones are used in live situations by disc jockeys with a DJ mixer and sound engineers for monitoring signal sources. In radio studios, DJs use a pair of headphones when talking to the microphone while the speakers are turned off, to eliminate acoustic feedback and monitor their own voice. In studio recordings, musicians and singers use headphones to play along to a backing track. In the military, audio signals of many varieties are monitored using headphones.

Wired headphones are attached to an audio source. The most common connection standards are 6.35mm (¼″) and 3.5mm TRS connectors and sockets. The larger 6.35mm connector tending to be found on fixed location home or professional equipment. Sony introduced the smaller, and now widely used, 3.5mm "minijack" stereo connector in 1979, adapting the older monophonic 3.5mm connector for use with its Walkman portable stereo tape player and the 3.5mm connector remains the common connector for portable application today. Adapters are available for converting between 6.35mm and 3.5mm devices.