A few years ago, I was asked to name my favorite composer; "impossible to do", I said. But the person pressed on, and I finally said "Ok, if we're going to play this game, it's Rameau." The person was astounded. But I meant it; when given an impossible choice like this, it has to be Rameau. Hippolyte is as good a choice as any of the operas and/or opera ballets. Sublime music, all the more so due to the amazingly expressive harmonic language. LR
I LOVE Rameau! He really should be much better known nowadays. As for Lully - I first knew about him in music classes at school when Miss Thompson our music teacher told us that a) none of his musicians liked him because he was a bully; and b) he banged the staff he was using to conduct the performers through his foot, got gangrene and died. Karma a la Francais!
Words fail me when I try to describe the music of Jean Philippe Rameau. Let’s just say that his music and Voltaire’s writings turned me into at least a bit of a Francophile after years of rabid Germanophilia. Rameau’s music is so marvelous , that I would be very hard put to pick just one of his works. It would have to be either the Suite in E- Minor, or Les Fetes d’Hebe, because I could certainly never exist without the Musette and Tambourin, which he originally composed as part of the Suite ( for solo harpsichord), and later orchestrated for Les Fetes. Vive Rameau et Vive la France! ⚜️🇫🇷
Voltaire? You do know that Rameau and Voltaire hated each other, right? Voltaire didn't even understand Rameau's progressive musical language! Voltaire has always been characterized as a witty man, but he could also be a jerk who liked to bully people, including the man who is arguably the best mathematician to have ever lived on earth, the great Leonhard Euler (of all people!). No wonder Rameau & Voltaire couldn't get along.
Luckily for me, not having the patience nor inclination to listen to hours of opera, most of Rameau's stage works have been recorded as orchestral suites (i.e., overture + dance music). They contain some of the most original and delightful music of the baroque era.
Yes, the suites really work well as self contained music - apart from the glorious Frans Bruggen collection, originally on Philips, of Les Boréades & Dardanus suites, there's Marc Minkowski's entertaining Une symphonie imaginaire - maybe not for the purists but for the rest of us, gorgeous stuff.
Yes! His greatest opera and one of the greatest operas. My first encounter with it was the Oiseau-Lyre with Janet Baker and John Shirley-Quirk. I haven't missed a recording of it since.
Dave, unless I'm nuts, we haven't honored some of these folks yet, for whom I have nominations: -Carl Maria von Weber - Der Freischütz -George Enescu - Symphony #3 -Olivier Messiaen - Saint François d'Assise -Heitor Villa-Lobos - BIS album of collected Choros and Bachianas Brasileiras [you called it some time ago] -William Byrd - Masses for 3, 4, and 4 voices
from rameau my two favorites are......Hippolyte and Aricie / Act III - Ritournelle, and Les Boréades, Act 4: Gavottes pour les heures et les Zéphirs...of course there are other works, I particularly like all of his music for harpsichord with kenneth gilbert on archiv produktion, by the way, knowing that mr gilbert died of covid at quebec city in the spring of 2020, here in canada it went completely unnoticed.....
I fully agree with your choice, Dave. In addition, hopefully, at least two very good interpretations are available : by Christie and by Minkowski. I personally prefer Christie's for the beauty of its sound and for the unforgettable presence of Lorraine Hunt.
Excellent choice, as far as I can judge: since I bought the Erato box of Rameau's operas after Dave's recommendation, I have listened to all of them once, but Hippolyte et Aricie is the only one I've studied more thoroughly. I'm still pondering which one shall be next - probably an opéra-ballet such es Les Fêtes d'Hébé.
My choice would be the orchestral suite from Les Indes Galantes. Glorious music. Alternatively, a collection of the keyboard music, say, by the wonderful Angela Hewitt.
Thanks Dave. No dissent from your choice. I met Pollux, but that’s just because I know it better. And, as you say, he was so generous musically, there are a number of other candidates as his style developed. As I recall there’s also some pretty weird, advanced harmony in H&C, and that’s another reason the critics got upset about it.
Rameau is one of the greats. I love the music of Indes Galantes.
Gorgeous colors and melodies! Who could ask for more?
A few years ago, I was asked to name my favorite composer; "impossible to do", I said. But the person pressed on, and I finally said "Ok, if we're going to play this game, it's Rameau." The person was astounded. But I meant it; when given an impossible choice like this, it has to be Rameau.
Hippolyte is as good a choice as any of the operas and/or opera ballets. Sublime music, all the more so due to the amazingly expressive harmonic language. LR
I LOVE Rameau! He really should be much better known nowadays. As for Lully - I first knew about him in music classes at school when Miss Thompson our music teacher told us that a) none of his musicians liked him because he was a bully; and b) he banged the staff he was using to conduct the performers through his foot, got gangrene and died. Karma a la Francais!
Words fail me when I try to describe the music of Jean Philippe Rameau. Let’s just say that his music and Voltaire’s writings turned me into at least a bit of a Francophile after years of rabid Germanophilia. Rameau’s music is so marvelous , that I would be very hard put to pick just one of his works. It would have to be either the Suite in E- Minor, or Les Fetes d’Hebe, because I could certainly never exist without the Musette and Tambourin, which he originally composed as part of the Suite ( for solo harpsichord), and later orchestrated for Les Fetes. Vive Rameau et Vive la France! ⚜️🇫🇷
Voltaire? You do know that Rameau and Voltaire hated each other, right? Voltaire didn't even understand Rameau's progressive musical language! Voltaire has always been characterized as a witty man, but he could also be a jerk who liked to bully people, including the man who is arguably the best mathematician to have ever lived on earth, the great Leonhard Euler (of all people!). No wonder Rameau & Voltaire couldn't get along.
Luckily for me, not having the patience nor inclination to listen to hours of opera, most of Rameau's stage works have been recorded as orchestral suites (i.e., overture + dance music). They contain some of the most original and delightful music of the baroque era.
Yes, the suites really work well as self contained music - apart from the glorious Frans Bruggen collection, originally on Philips, of Les Boréades & Dardanus suites, there's Marc Minkowski's entertaining Une symphonie imaginaire - maybe not for the purists but for the rest of us, gorgeous stuff.
Yes! His greatest opera and one of the greatest operas. My first encounter with it was the Oiseau-Lyre with Janet Baker and John Shirley-Quirk. I haven't missed a recording of it since.
Dave, unless I'm nuts, we haven't honored some of these folks yet, for whom I have nominations:
-Carl Maria von Weber - Der Freischütz
-George Enescu - Symphony #3
-Olivier Messiaen - Saint François d'Assise
-Heitor Villa-Lobos - BIS album of collected Choros and Bachianas Brasileiras [you called it some time ago]
-William Byrd - Masses for 3, 4, and 4 voices
from rameau my two favorites are......Hippolyte and Aricie / Act III - Ritournelle, and Les Boréades, Act 4: Gavottes pour les heures et les Zéphirs...of course there are other works, I particularly like all of his music for harpsichord with kenneth gilbert on archiv produktion, by the way, knowing that mr gilbert died of covid at quebec city in the spring of 2020, here in canada it went completely unnoticed.....
I'd love to see a Telemann video in this series!
I hope you'll eventually get around to Frescobaldi, Froberger and the Couperins too!
I fully agree with your choice, Dave. In addition, hopefully, at least two very good interpretations are available : by Christie and by Minkowski. I personally prefer Christie's for the beauty of its sound and for the unforgettable presence of Lorraine Hunt.
Excellent choice, as far as I can judge: since I bought the Erato box of Rameau's operas after Dave's recommendation, I have listened to all of them once, but Hippolyte et Aricie is the only one I've studied more thoroughly. I'm still pondering which one shall be next - probably an opéra-ballet such es Les Fêtes d'Hébé.
You will be dazzled by the beauty of Les Fetes, guaranteed.
My choice would be the orchestral suite from Les Indes Galantes. Glorious music. Alternatively, a collection of the keyboard music, say, by the wonderful Angela Hewitt.
I'm looking at your shirt and wondering, 'When will Dave return to the Haydn crusade? He's only half done.' Some of us are eagerly waiting.....
I am certainly one of them. It's been such a joyful and enlightening experience so far.
Thanks Dave. No dissent from your choice. I met Pollux, but that’s just because I know it better. And, as you say, he was so generous musically, there are a number of other candidates as his style developed. As I recall there’s also some pretty weird, advanced harmony in H&C, and that’s another reason the critics got upset about it.
RUclips grr. I meant I might have chosen Castor et Pollux. I never met Pollux of course. Might have been interesting though!