The Menagerie
Donald Macleod focuses on the musical resources made available to Rameau while living at the mansion belonging to his patron, Alexandre-Jean-Joseph Le Riche de la Poupliniere.
Life in the Menagerie, the home of Jean-Philippe Rameau's larger than life sponsor, the colourful Parisian tax farmer, Alexandre-Jean-Joseph Le Riche de la Pouplinière.
Controversy was never far away from Jean-Philippe Rameau. He lived a long life, amid the lively cultural and aesthetic debates that erupted in France after music was freed from Jean-Baptiste Lully's artistic monopoly. An octogenarian at his death in 1764, Rameau was by then a prosperous and successful opera composer. Unlike his contemporaries, Bach, Handel and Scarlatti, Rameau was something of a later starter. Born in Dijon, he spent the first part of his life in the provinces, working in relative obscurity. He didn't make his name until the age of 50 when he conquered the stage in Paris. What followed was a remarkable burst of creativity, amounting to about a hundred works, in addition to the prolific publication of original theoretical writing.
Today, Donald Macleod looks at the musical resources made available to Rameau, while living with his wife and children in the comfort of his patron's mansion, and Professor Graham Sadler, an authority on Rameau, fills in some of the blanks surrounding Rameau's formative activities in the provinces.
Last on
Music Played
-
Jean‐Philippe Rameau
Les Indes galantes - opera-ballet (Les Fleurs) [3rd entree] vers. orig. [1735]
Conductor: Frans Brüggen. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century.- PHILIPS : 438 946-2-.
- PHILIPS.
- 17-20.
-
Jean‐Philippe Rameau
Castor et Pollux - Extract Act 3 and Act 4
Director: William Christie. Singer: Jérôme Corréas. Singer: Agnès Mellon. Ensemble: Les Arts Florissants. Singer: Véronique Gens.- HMC : 901435-37.
- HMC.
- 9.
-
Jean‐Philippe Rameau
Concert en sextuor no. 3 in A major/minor - La Poupliniere
Performer: Christophe Rousset. Performer: Ryo Terakado. Performer: Kaori Uemura.- Harmonia Mundi:HMA1951418.
- 10.
-
Jean‐Philippe Rameau
Les Fetes d'Hebe (Les talents lyriques) - opera-ballet
Director: William Christie. Ensemble: Les Arts Florissants.- ERATO : 3984-26129-2.
- ERATO.
- 29-34.
-
Jean‐Philippe Rameau
Premier livre de pieces de clavecin
Performer: Christophe Rousset.- L'OISEAU-LYRE : 425-886-2.
- L'OISEAU-LYRE.
- 1.
-
Jean‐Philippe Rameau
Les Indes galantes - Overture
Conductor: Frans Brüggen. Performer: Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century.- PHILIPS : 438-936 2.
- PHILIPS.
- 1.
Broadcasts
- Tue 9 Sep 2014 12:00鶹Լ Radio 3
- Tue 9 Sep 2014 18:30鶹Լ Radio 3
Vaughan Williams Today
Beethoven Unleashed – the box set
What was really wrong with Beethoven?
Composers A to Z
Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week
Five reasons why we love Parry's Jerusalem
What is the strange power of Jerusalem which makes strong men weep?
A man out of time – why Parry's music and ideas were at odds with his image...
The composer of Jerusalem was very far from the conservative figure his image suggests.
Composer Help Page
Find resources and contacts for composers from within the classical music industry.