Night of Anguish Lyrics – Les Miserables

Song Overview

Night of Anguish glimmers for scarcely ninety seconds, yet the moment grips the barricade tighter than any cannon blast. Recorded in 1988 for Les Misérables – The Complete Symphonic Recording, it captures the instant after Éponine’s fatal collapse and before musket smoke swallows the students. Producer David Caddick let the orchestra breathe, favouring hushed strings and a lone cor anglais that hovers like night-fog over wet paving stones. In 1991 the full album claimed Best Musical Cast Show Album at the GRAMMYs, a first for a through-sung British score.

Personal Review

I met Night of Anguish via a battered triple-cassette in a Montreal dorm, winter ’90. One rewind and the room froze: Anthony Warlow’s Enjolras mutters “She is the first to fall,” while Michael Ball lets grief rustle through Marius’ breath. No drums, no brass fanfare—just grief stitched to resolve. The lyrics never overstay; they hit, withdraw, and leave the ear pricked for artillery.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The scene siphons tension from Éponine’s dying breath into collective clarity. Enjolras christens her “the first to fall,” transmuting individual tragedy into revolutionary spark. The refrain of vow—Combeferre’s “We fight here in her name”—turns elegy into strategic manifesto. Schönberg threads three leitmotifs: the Look Down bass line, a fleeting quote of the Rain theme, and an embryonic phrase that will re-blossom in Dawn of Anguish.

Musically this is through-scored dialogue in C minor, marked Largo molto, tempo hovering at 66 BPM. A single suspended cymbal swell mimics distant mortar; low cellos double the baritone underscoring Valjean’s volunteer entrance. The dramatic pivot is Enjolras handing Valjean a musket—trust extended under starlight.

Historically, French stagings tuck the same text into a broader track labelled “La Nuit de l’Angoisse.” The 2012 film excised the sung passage altogether, replacing it with purely instrumental underscore to hasten pacing.

“Take this and use it well, but if you shoot us in the back, you’ll never live to tell.”

Enjolras’ cold conditional frames Valjean as both ally and unknown quantity, foreshadowing the sniper’s mercy that will soon spare Javert.

Verse Highlights

Opening Quatrain

A hymnal cadence on “She is the first to fall” echoes mediaeval requiem plainchant, setting grief in liturgical amber.

Collective Vow

Tripartite lines—Combeferre, Prouvaire, Lesgles—mirror the triptych of revolutionary virtues: Reason, Romanticism, Levity.

Valjean’s Entrance

Chord shifts from minor tonic to Lydian-tinged major as hope, disguised in uniform, scales the barricade.

Song Credits

• Featured Voices: Anthony Warlow (Enjolras), Michael Ball (Marius), Reece Holland (Joly), Philip Quast (Javert), Gary Morris (Valjean)
• Producer: David Caddick
• Composer: Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Lyricists: Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer
• Release Date: October 17 1988 (UK) / February 1989 (World)
• Genre: Symphonic musical-theatre
• Instruments: Strings, cor anglais, low brass, field drum, harp
• Label: First Night Records
• Length: 1 min 34 sec
• Track #: 30 overall / 14 on Disc 2
• Mood: Elegiac, resolute
• Language: English (with French leitmotif roots)
• Poetic meter: Free recitative, blank-verse fragments
• Copyright: © 1988 Exallshow Ltd / Warner Music Group

Songs on Martyrdom

Immediately following comes “First Attack.” Where Night of Anguish weeps in hushed harmonies, the attack explodes with rolling snare and dotted-rhythm horns, translating grief into gun-smoke.

Stephen Sondheim’s “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd – Finale” likewise elegises a fallen woman (Lucy) before grinding onward; both pieces use choral chant to sanctify tragedy.

Across genres, Bruce Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad” paints modern sacrifice on a dust-bowl canvas. Its whispered delivery parallels the quiet conviction voiced inside Night of Anguish.

Questions and Answers

Why was the piece trimmed in recent revivals?

Directors favour tighter pacing, often folding the lyric into an instrumental underscore to prioritise Valjean/Javert confrontation.

Does the 10^th Anniversary concert include it?

Yes—Colm Wilkinson leads a 1 : 34 live version at Royal Albert Hall, released in 1996.

Which motifs underscore the scene?

Look Down, Rain, Drink With Me—each re-harmonised in minor thirds, signalling descent into night.

Has it been covered outside cast albums?

Choral demos circulate; the official Hal Leonard folio omits it, but community choirs often lift parts from bootleg scores.

Is the title used in non-English productions?

French translations list the scene as “La Nuit de l’Angoisse,” retaining identical placement in Act II.

Awards and Chart Notes

The parent recording’s GRAMMY win in 1991 cemented Schönberg’s score as cast-album royalty, edging out Anything Goes and City of Angels. Sales passed the RIAA Gold threshold in September 1992.

How to Sing?

Enjolras (baritone B₂–F₄) must sustain low-mezzo resonance on the word “fall,” free of vibrato. Tenor Marius (C₃–G₄) should thin registration above E₄ to keep the grief intimate. Ensemble entrances require breath-sync on dotted-eighth patterns; mark breaths after every hemiola to avoid collapsing the Largo pulse.

Fan and Media Reactions

“Blink and you’ll miss it, but the hush after Éponine’s death is where the barricade feels human.” Les Misérables Wiki forum, 2023

“Cutting Night of Anguish in the film robbed us of Marius’ first honest tears.” Reddit thread r/lesmiserables, 2022

“On the symphonic mix the cor anglais sounds like smoke rolling across Seine rooftops.” Playbill comment, 1991

“The Royal Albert Hall rendition is perfect grief, no excess sugar.” Apple Music review, 2024

“My choir begged to include it in our medley; licensing said no—too short, too risky. Shame.” ACDA Newsletter, 2019