Ça Ira

"Ça ira" (French: "it'll be fine") is an emblematic song of the French Revolution, first heard in May 1790. It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of the refrain.

Original version

The author of the original words "Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira", Ladré, was a former soldier who made a living as a street singer.

The music is a popular contredanse air called le Carillon national, and was composed by Bécourt, a violinist (according to other sources: side drum player) of the théâtre Beaujolais. The queen Marie Antoinette herself is said to have often played the music on her harpsichord.

The title and theme of the refrain were inspired by Benjamin Franklin, in France as a representative of the Continental Congress, who was very popular among the French people. When asked about the American Revolutionary War, he would reportedly reply, in somewhat broken French, "Ça ira, ça ira" ("It'll be fine, it'll be fine").

The song first became popular as a worksong during the preparation for the Fête de la Fédération of 1790 and eventually became recognized as an unofficial anthem of revolutionaries.

Ça Ira (review)

Ça ira was the Belgian monthly magazine that featured avant-garde art, literature and politics.

History and profile

Ça Ira was founded by a group of young artists, who came out of the smoking war-wrecked world of 1919 with a new élan. The title Ça ira comes from a song of the French Revolution (article in French, translated as: “We will win!”). Twenty editions were published in Antwerp from April 1920 to January 1923.

The members (many of whom later achieved great fame and notoriety) included Paul Colin, Theo van Doesburg, the young artist Maurice van Essche who was the leader of the group, Abel Lurkin, Paul Neuhuys, Arthur Pétronio, Charles Plisnier, Han Ryner, while very appealing dada and expressionist woodcuts and linos were added by Floris Jespers, Paul Joostens, Frans Masereel, Jan Cockx, Jozef Cantré, Karel Maes and Jozef Peeters. One finds incidental contributions by Paul Van Ostaijen, Paul Éluard, Francis Picabia, Pound, Iwan Goll, Blaise Cendrars and Kassak.

See also

Ça Ira (opera)

Ça Ira (French for "It'll be fine", subtitled "There is Hope") is the fourth studio album by Roger Waters. It is an opera in three acts and a concept album. The album is based on the French libretto co-written by Étienne and Nadine Roda-Gil on the historical subject of the early French Revolution. Ça Ira was released 26 September 2005, as a double CD album featuring baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Ying Huang, and tenor Paul Groves. The album received middling, yet indecisive reviews, with critics praising the composition, but dividing the latter with a hard-to-follow plot, as well as its simplicity.

History

Waters, known for his work in the English rock band Pink Floyd, was approached by friends Étienne Roda-Gil and his wife Nadine Delahaye in 1987, and asked to set their libretto to music. The initial version was completed and recorded by the end of 1988. After hearing it, François Mitterrand was suitably impressed and urged the Paris Opera to stage it for the bicentennial of the revolution the following July. The opera directors, however, were resistant, according to Waters, because "I was English, and I had been in a rock group." Starting in 1989, Waters rewrote the libretto in English.

Hold up

A Holdup is a form of robbery.

Hold Up, hold up, or hold-up may also refer to:

Arts, entertainment, and media

Film

Games

Music

See also

Hold up (bridge)

In the card game of contract bridge, to hold up means to play low to a trick led by the opponents, losing it intentionally in order to sever their communication. The primary purpose is to give as many tricks to opponents as needed to exhaust all the cards in the suit from one of their hands. If that hand regains the lead, it will not be able to put the partner on lead to cash its tricks. Hold up is one of basic techniques in play.

While mechanically identical, a hold up is in a suit played by the opponents while a duck (or ducking) is a manoeuver in one's own suit. Nevertheless the terms are used interchangeably with duck or ducking more common.

Examples

Denying an entry (declarer play)

West leads the top of a doubleton against a suit contract, and East plays the queen. Suppose South wins the first trick with the ace and West gets in before trumps are drawn (with the ace of trumps, for example). Now West can lead his remaining card in the suit to East's king, and East can return the suit for West to ruff.

Unbroken (Demi Lovato album)

Unbroken is the third studio album by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on September 20, 2011, by Hollywood Records. Lovato described the album as "more mature" and "a little more R&B/pop" than her previous material, citing Rihanna as the major influence. While some of the album's lyrical content was heavily influenced by Lovato's personal struggles, it also deals with lighter subjects, such as love, self empowerment, and having fun.

The album received generally mixed to mostly positive reviews from music critics, with some who commended its ballad tracks and praised Lovato's vocals, but others who dismissed it as "immature" and criticized its amount of "party songs". Commercially, the album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, with sales exceeding 97,000 copies in its first week of release. It was eventually certified Gold.Unbroken performed well internationally worldwide, and peaked in the top 40 in many countries including, Australia, Canada, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and Switzerland. It was certified Platinum in Brazil, and Gold in Chile and the Philippines.