Originally written for harpsichord, the "Marche des Marseillois avec des Variations" was first published in 1793, only one year after the official composition, on the night of 25 to 26 April 1792, of the "Chant de guerre pour l'armée du Rhin" known as "La Marseillaise" by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (1760-1836) and three years before his qualification as a national anthem on 14 July 1795.

Regularly cited in works by such important composers as Antonio Salieri (1750-1825), Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) or Claude Debussy (1862-1918), this revolutionary theme is also at the origin of many variations signed Claude Balbastre (1724-1799), Giuseppe Maria Cambini (1746-1825), Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824), Ferdinando Carulli (1770-1841), Franz Liszt (1811-1886) etc.
With three inspired variations, the work of Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier is among the first achievements of the genre, both chronologically and artistically.

Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet, known as Charpentier, was born on May 16, 1734, in Abbeville, France. Born into a family of musicians, he began studying the harpsichord and composition at an early age, developing a brilliant and expressive style that set him apart in 18th-century Paris.

Charpentier settled in Paris, where he became a renowned harpsichordist, performing in salons and private concerts and participating in the capital's intense musical life. His instrumental virtuosity and sense of musical elegance earned him a solid reputation among music lovers and professionals alike.

As a composer, he wrote mainly for harpsichord and fortepiano, but he also produced a few works for other instruments and small ensembles. His repertoire includes sonatas, character pieces, dances, and variations, which reflect the gallant spirit of the era while revealing a certain melodic and harmonic inventiveness. His works are characterized by clarity of line, elegance of texture, and the finesse of the French style.

Charpentier also contributed to music education, passing on his knowledge and techniques to young students, thus influencing the practice of harpsichord playing in Paris and France. Although less famous than some of his contemporaries, his work bears witness to the richness and finesse of 18th-century French music.

He died on February 16, 1794, in Paris, leaving behind a musical legacy appreciated for its virtuosity and sensitivity. His works for harpsichord continue to be studied and performed, particularly in the context of the rediscovery of French Baroque and galant music.

Along his university studies (DEA in musicology, University of Paris IV-Sorbonne), Frédéric Cellier was awarded three first prizes and a development prize at the CNR of Nice and won first prize at the International Competition of Musical Execution - soloist category – of Stresa (Italy).

He is the laureate of the Fondation de France and the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and accredited teacher at the CNR of Nice, the CNR of Marseille, and at the CRR Olivier Messiaen of Avignon (France).

Frédéric Cellier is the interpreter of Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for clarinet Bb and piano with Jean-Michel Damase, Jean Françaix or Gabriel Tacchino, as well as his own arrangements for clarinet and harp of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes with the great French harpist Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche, and for clarinet, piano, and string orchestra of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in blue for Wynton Marsalis or under the baton of Adrian Gershwin, grandson of the composer.

Founder and artistic director of STRADIVARIUS Editions, he is the author of light music pieces played around the world and a considerable number of arrangements of all styles and for all instruments, acclaimed by many personalities in the music world, including Michèle Auric, Jean Françaix, Adrian Gershwin, Wynton Marsalis, Yehudi Menuhin, Madeleine Milhaud, Manuel Rosenthal, Gabriel Tacchino, and Ornella Volta.

"Frédéric Cellier has produced a number of adaptations of Georges Auric's works with such talent and precision that I consider them a natural addition to his chamber music catalogue."
Michèle AURIC - Georges Auric's widow

"To Frédéric Cellier, excellent musician and tireless arranger."
Jean FRANÇAIX - Composer and pianist

"Arranging a musical work is always a delicate and risky exercise, because it requires both modifying it so that it can be played by the desired instruments and preserving its very essence. But that is exactly what Frédéric Cellier has done, preserving the nuances, subtleties and soul of the original works while breathing new life into them.
His arrangements give all the musicians the chance to perform these compositions specially revisited for their instrument, and make music lovers rediscover them in a new light."
Adrian GERSHWIN - George Gershwin’s grandson

"Congratulations for your beautiful new orchestration and rendition of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue."
Wynton MARSALIS - Trumpet player, composer, bandleader, general and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York

"It is outstanding that Frédéric Cellier has managed to transpose Saxophone Marmalade from the saxophone to the clarinet. I thank him for it and wish its great and deserved success. "
Manuel ROSENTHAL - Conductor, composer and Maurice Ravel’s pupil

"I am very happy to tell you how much I appreciated your transcription of the Capriccio, based on Francis Poulenc's Le Bal Masqué. It perfectly reflects the spirit and verve of the score for two pianos that I had the opportunity to play and record with Jacques Février, and it was a great pleasure for me to premiere it in Montpellier."
Gabriel TACCHINO - Pianist, Francis Poulenc’s specialist

"I must tell you that I really like your transcriptions and that I think the tone of the instruments you have chosen suits perfectly our beloved composer."
Ornella VOLTA - Musicologist, president of the Erik Satie’s Foundation