"Sanssouci" is a song written by Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...

; appearing as a track on his fifth studio album, Release the Stars

Release the Stars

Release the Stars is the fifth studio album by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released through Geffen Records on May 15, 2007. Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant was the executive in charge of production, and the album was mixed by producers Marius de Vries and Andy Bradfield...

(2007). The name is a reference to the Sanssouci

Sanssouci

Sanssouci is the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is...

 palace built by Frederick the Great

Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...

 in Potsdam

Potsdam

Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

The studio recording of the song used in Release the Stars includes both Wainwright's sister, Lucy Wainwright Roche

Lucy Wainwright Roche

Lucy Wainwright Roche is an American singer-songwriter, and the daughter of musicians, Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche. Preceded by two EPs, 8 Songs and 8 More, Roche released her debut album, Lucy in October 2010....

, and his long-term friend singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Teddy Thompson

Teddy Thompson

Teddy Thompson is a British folk and rock musician. He is the son of folk-rock musicians Richard and Linda Thompson and brother of singer Kamila Thompson...

, on backing vocals.

Originally a French term, the expression "sans souci

Sans Souci

Sans Souci , sometimes spelled Sans-Souci, Sans-souci, SansSouci or Sanssouci, may refer to:-Place names:United States*Sans Souci, Michigan, unincorporated community...

" translated into English means roughly "without worry", "without cares", or "carefree".

Personnel

• Rufus Wainwright
  Rufus Wainwright
  Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
  
   – vocals, nylon string guitar
  Classical guitar
  The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
  
  
• Brad Albetta - bass
• Jason Boshoff - programming
• Marius de Vries
  Marius de Vries
  Marius Van Wyk de Vries is an English music producer and composer. He has been behind some of the key albums and soundtracks of recent times, gathering five Grammy nominations, two BAFTAs, and an Ivor Novello award along the way.-Music Producer:...
  
   - programming
• Pirmin Grehl - flute
  Flute
  The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
  
  
• Gerry Leonard - guitar
• Ronith Mues - harp
  Harp
  The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
  
  
• Jenni Muldaur - backing vocals
• Jack Petruzelli - acoustic guitar
• Julianna Raye - backing vocals
• Teddy Thompson
  Teddy Thompson
  Teddy Thompson is a British folk and rock musician. He is the son of folk-rock musicians Richard and Linda Thompson and brother of singer Kamila Thompson...
  
   - backing vocals
• Lucy Wainwright Roche
  Lucy Wainwright Roche
  Lucy Wainwright Roche is an American singer-songwriter, and the daughter of musicians, Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche. Preceded by two EPs, 8 Songs and 8 More, Roche released her debut album, Lucy in October 2010....
  
   - backing vocals
• Joan Wasser
  Joan Wasser
  Joan Wasser is a violinist and singer/songwriter in the indie rock world. She began her career playing violin with the Dambuilders. She has released three albums as a singer songwriter, the 2006 Real Life the 2008 To Survive and the 2011 The Deep Field...
  
  - backing vocals