4 - Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), By Royal Appointment
By Royal Appointment Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) Episode 4 of 5 AVAILABILITY:4 DAYS LEFT TO LISTEN Duration: 1 hour First broadcast: Thursday 11 September 2014 A royal seal of approval from Louis XV sees a shift in Jean-Philippe Rameau's activities away from the Parisian stage to mounting spectacular performances at court.
Controversy was never far away from Jean-Philippe Rameau. He lived a long life, in the thick of 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.
Celebrations for the wedding of Louis XV's eldest son to the Spanish Infanta resulted in Jean-Philippe Rameau's comic masterpiece, Platée and two other major commissions for the court. Thereafter more than half of his stage works were intended for court, where he was given generous resources. Today, Dr. Jonathan Williams from The Rameau Project joins Donald Macleod once again, to discuss the instrumental forces Rameau drew on to create his unique and brilliant orchestral sound. SHOW LESS
Add "Composer of the Week, Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), By Royal Appointment" to FavouritesAdd to Favourites Share Facebook Twitter QR code Music Played 4 items Add music you love and enjoy it with BBC Playlister Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes Image for Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau Platée (Prologue Overture) Performer: Les Musiciens du Louvre. Director: Marc Minkowski. ERATO, 2292-45028-2. Add "Jean-Philippe Rameau || Platée (Prologue Overture)" to PlaylisterAdd to Playlister Image for Jean-Philippe Rameau 00:00 Jean-Philippe Rameau Platée (Act 1, Sc3 to 4) Conductor: Roy Goodman. Performer: European Union Baroque Orchestra. NAXOS, 8.-557490 Add "Jean-Philippe Rameau || Platée (Act 1, Sc3 to 4)" to PlaylisterAdd to Playlister Image for Jean-Philippe Rameau 00:04 Jean-Philippe Rameau La Princesse de Navarre - comedie-ballet Conductor: Nicholas McGegan. Performer: English Bach Festival Baroque Orchestra. Performer: English Bach Festival Singers. ERATO, 0630129862 Add "Jean-Philippe Rameau || La Princesse de Navarre - comedie-ballet" to PlaylisterAdd to Playlister Image for Jean-Philippe Rameau 00:17 Jean-Philippe Rameau Les Surprises de l'Amour - incidental music Performer: Caroline Mutel. Performer: Jean-Sebastien Bou. Performer: Sébastien d'Hérin. Performer: Les Nouveaux Caracteres. GLOSSA, GCD 922701 Add "Jean-Philippe Rameau || Les Surprises de lAmour - incidental music" to PlaylisterAdd to Playlister Broadcasts BBC Radio 3 Thu 11 Sep 2014 12:00 BBC Radio 3