Wedding Chorale / Beggars at the Feast Lyrics – Les Miserables

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Featured (1988 Symphonic cast): Michael Ball (Marius), Debra Byrne (Cosette), Alun Armstrong (Thénardier), Sue Jane Tanner (Mme Thénardier) & full ensemble
• Producer: David Caddick
• Composer: Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Lyricists: Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel (orig. French); Herbert Kretzmer (English)
• Orchestrator / Music Director: John Cameron; Martin Koch (conductor)
• Release Date: 2 December 1988 (Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording)
• Genre: Operetta waltz ? comic patter song
• Length: 2 min 15 s (Symphonic edition)
• Key / Tempo: D-major wedding chorale (72 BPM waltz), flips to G-minor oompah march (116 BPM)
• Instruments: Harp, strings, oboe, French horns, accordion, tuba, snare + triangle for circus-skewered finale
• Mood: From sacred pomp to vaudeville hustle
• Language: English (French reprise “La noce / Les gueux à la fête” in 1991 Paris revival)
• Label: Exallshow Ltd / Relativity Records
• Copyrights ©: 1980, 1985 Alain Boublil Music Ltd / Schönberg Music Ltd

Song Meaning and Annotations

Schönberg loves a musical rug-pull. The “Wedding Chorale” opens with Handel-flavoured triple-time grandeur: ringing arpeggios, celestial horns, choir harmonies stacked like cathedral stone. It sounds as if heaven itself has RSVP’d to Marius and Cosette’s vows. Then, with the sleazy slide of an accordion, the Thénardiers burst in and the tune mutates into “Beggars at the Feast.” Goodbye hymn, hello cabaret. The key lurches a tritone down, the metre straightens into a boozy 2/4, and tuba oom-pahs underline every venom-laced rhyming couplet the innkeepers sneer.

Herbert Kretzmer’s rewrite doubles down on class satire. Thénardier brags about puking dukes and “breaking bread with the upper crust,” while Mme Thénardier warns Marius his bride’s father “is not what you think.” The waltz briefly resurfaces when Marius remembers Éponine—a melodic callback that twists the knife by linking her unrequited love to the con-artists who raised her. On stage, choreographers exaggerate social gulf: wedding guests glide in soft balletic circles; the Thénardiers jitterbug like marionettes with severed strings.

The number’s whiplash structure mirrors Victor Hugo’s epilogue chapters, where idealism meets the eternal roaches of corruption. Even after barricades fall and lovers wed, profiteers still sniff profit. The song’s final lyric—“Clear away the barricades and we’re still there!”—is a thesis statement for history’s cockroaches. It also reprises the melody of Act I’s “Master of the House,” confirming the swindlers will always land on their feet, champagne flute in claw.

Micro-Motifs & Easter Eggs

1. Hand-Bell Fanfares

Ring out the bells upon this day of days…

Orchestration quotes the Belleville bells heard behind “Red & Black,” sonically tying student idealism to matrimonial hope.

2. Waltz of Treachery (Reprise)

The Thénardiers’ verse uses the same chord loop as their Act I seduction of Valjean, now repurposed to blackmail Marius.

3. “Master of the House” Tag

Phrasing on “Beggar at the feast” echoes “Master of the house”—same melodic contour, half-time tempo—cementing brand identity for Paris’s most adaptable parasites.

Annotations

Comic Intrusion

The moment the Thénardiers burst in, the graceful wedding chorus snaps into near-circus music — a jarring cue that these shameless schemers serve as overblown comic relief amid romance and sorrow.

Pretend Aristocrats

They arrive decked in costumes so gaudy they border on vulgar. Like tactless peacocks, they tumble while dancing and shout over the proper guests, underlining that their “noble” guise is both obvious and poorly executed.

Tales and Faux Pas

A low-neckline “de colletage” scandal in their story disgusts Marius; some productions show even the Thénardiers recoiling, others relish his discomfort.

Lost Lines and Eponine’s Echo

The Official Symphonic Recording once included a single post-mortem mention of Éponine — a quiet closure now cut from most stagings.

Old Motifs Return

As attention swings back to Thénardier, the familiar Waltz of Treachery threads beneath his patter. Madame, ever mercenary, even waves her daughter’s death as a cash grab.

Peddling Secrets

News that might simply be told becomes another shakedown; they charge Marius for knowledge about Valjean, singing a regret-tinged line with a bright, almost mocking lilt.

Depending on cuts, either spouse blurts

“Care to learn how much you owe?” .

Sewer Memories

Thénardier brags he hauled Marius from the Paris sewers, mistaking the wounded man for a corpse and lifting his ring — a callback to Dog Eats Dog. When confronted, Marius may punch, pay, or do both, then mutter a quick prayer for forgiveness.

Off-Color Rewrites

A once-offensive couplet, sung to the Master of the House melody, now appears in three cleaned-up versions — each still flaunts the pair’s bad taste while dropping older slurs.

Applause for Villainy

Thrilled to mingle with “real” aristocrats, Thénardier sneers that decent folk gain nothing while scoundrels thrive. His claim rings grimly true: noble souls like Enjolras, Gavroche and Éponine died for hope, yet these predators survive to profit.

A Family of Leeches

They even crow about outliving their own children. Like the Engineer in Miss Saigon, they stay apolitical, ready to profit whichever side wins.

Croesus and Other Curiosities

Thénardier name-drops Croesus — proof that, though “classless,” he prizes wit and profit. (Recall Éponine could read and write, rare for girls of the time.)

Resident Rogues

Javert may be the antagonist, yet the Thénardiers remain Les Misérables’ enduring villains: unrepentant, greedy and always two steps from the gutter, even when draped in silk.

Similar Songs

1. “The Miller’s Son” – A Little Night Music (1973)
   Sondheim also flips from waltz politeness to earthy innuendo, giving servants the last laugh over their social “betters.”
2. “La Valse à Mille Temps” – Jacques Brel (1959)
   Brel’s chanson accelerates from stately waltz to manic patter—precursor to the Thénardiers’ gear-shift comic chaos.
3. “A Little Priest” – Sweeney Todd (1979)
   Another cooking-up-a-scheme duet, packed with culinary puns and moral bankruptcy, underscored by jaunty dance rhythm.

Questions and Answers

Is the full scene always performed in modern productions?

No—tour edits often cut the opening chorale or trim Thénardier’s verse to keep run-time tight. The 25th Anniversary O? concert restores everything.

Does the 2012 film include the song?

Partially. The wedding choir appears as underscore; “Beggars at the Feast” survives in shorter form with Sasha Baron Cohen & Helena Bonham Carter dancing a quick mazurka.

Any notable cover versions?

Swedish dub “Bröllopet” (Claes Malmberg & Beatrice Järås, 2000) and Matt Lucas/Katy Secombe’s 2019 Staged Concert EP both charted on iTunes cast charts.

Why the slur lyrics (“Here comes a prince / There goes a Jew / This one’s a queer”)—are they still used?

Many regional and school editions soften or alter the line (“Here comes a prince / Here comes a judge…”) to avoid offensive slurs; official licensing now offers an alternate script.

Musically, how many leitmotifs collide in this number?

At least four: the wedding chorale hymn, “Master of the House” motive, “Waltz of Treachery” chords, and a fragment of Marius/Cosette love theme when the groom recalls Éponine.

Awards and Chart Positions

• Grammy Award: The Complete Symphonic Recording – Best Musical Cast Show Album (1991)
• UK Compilation Chart: Album peaked No 23 after 25th Anniversary cinema relays (Oct 2010)
• Billboard 200: Symphonic album reached No 42 (Mar 1991)

Fan and Media Reactions

“From cathedral to carnival in 8 bars—best tonal whiplash in musical theatre.” – Broadway World forum

“Matt Lucas milks the ‘Duke did that puke’ rhyme like dad-joke Shakespeare.” – YouTube comment on 2019 Staged Concert clip

“If you’re staging Les Mis Jr., delete the slur verse. Kids deserve better punch-lines.” – Twitter thread @DramaTeacherSOS

“That last ‘money is the stuff we smell’ line hits harder during a recession, trust.” – Reddit r/lesmiserables discussion

“Schönberg’s sneaky reprise of ‘Master of the House’ = chef’s kiss of thematic economy.” – Musicology podcast Pit Band Breakdown