Cinquante chants français, mis en musique par Rouget de Lisle [Fifty French Songs, set to music with piano accompaniment by Rouget de Lisle]
1825 edition, here lacking its title page, in which the celebrated lyricist claimed for the first time, explicitly and in writing, to be the sole composer of La Marseillaise, that is, the author of both the music and the words. He would make this claim on only one other occasion, in a letter of 5 January 1829 to M. Beuchot. In its early years, France's national anthem was the subject of a genuine controversy over its authorship, particularly regarding the musical composition, that would persist long after 1825, notwithstanding the declarations contained in this edition. Hector B
