成人快手

Donald Macleod continues his focus on French composers, inspired by this month鈥檚 鈥楾our de France鈥� cycle race. Today Donald considers Rameau's prickly relationships with colleagues and friends.

"I have followed the theatre since the age of twelve", so said Rameau to a young composer who wrote to him for advice. It's an intriguing insight into a man who didn't produce his first opera until the age of fifty. Quite why it took him that long isn't clear. Up to that point he had been a church musician, following in his father's footsteps, holding a succession of posts mainly in the South of France. He also taught and established himself as a theoretician of some note. A brief, early sojourn in Paris, a mecca for any theatrical hopeful, ended abruptly when he was still in his twenties. It wasn't until he returned to Paris in 1723 that Rameau was able to start writing music for theatrical entertainments, at first for the popular Fairs, and then finally in 1733 for the Paris Opera. In the midst of constant cultural rows over the merits of French and Italian operatic style, Rameau flourished as a theatre composer. At one point he was so successful the management of the Paris Opera decreed no more than two of his works should be mounted per season, to allow other composers to get a look in! He completed his final opera, a masterpiece, Les Bor茅ades in 1763, the year before he died at the age of eighty. Across the week Donald Macleod focusses on this remarkable period in Rameau's life, from the first of his theatrical works to his last.

There's plenty of evidence to support the view that Rameau was a difficult man. But how much of it was true, and how much of it was generated out of spite? Donald Macleod weighs up the available facts.

Overture to Zoroastre
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, director

Zoroastre, Act 3
Sommeil, fuis de ce s茅jour - L'aurore vermeille - Pour la fete la plus belle - De notre flamme mutuelle
Entr茅e de peuples diff茅rent
Mille rayons brillants- Tout se ranime - O lumi猫re vive et pure
Mark Padmore, tenor, Zoroastre
Ga毛lle M茅chaly, soprano, Am茅lite
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, director

Achant茅 et C茅phise, Act 3
Aigle naissant, l猫ve les yeux
Cyrille Dubois, tenor, Achant茅
Les Ambassadeurs et La Grande 脡curie
Alexis Kossenko, director

Achant茅 et C茅phise, Act 3
Tremblez, tremblez malheureux
H茅las, h茅las! Vous pouvez m鈥檕pprimer
Soyons unis jusqu'au tombeau
Haine implacable, guide leurs pas
Air tr猫s vif
Haine implacable, guide leurs pas
Zirphile est n么tre reine
Triomphe! victoire!
Sabine Devieilhe, soprano, C茅phise
Cyrille Dubois, tenor, Achant茅
Judith van Wanroij, soprano, Zirphile
David Witczak, baritone, La G茅nie Oro猫s
Les Chantres du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles
Les Ambassadeurs et La Grande 脡curie
Alexis Kossenko, director

Les Bor茅ades, Act 2
Enl猫vement d'Orithie
Air Andante
Air di Boril茅e C'est des Dieux qu'on doit appr Loure
Premi猫re Gavotte vive pour les suivants de Bore
Deuxi猫me Gavotte pour Orithie
Premi猫re Gavotte da capo
Choeur; Ciel! Quels accords harmonieux
Benedict Kristj谩nsson, tenor, Calisis
Tom谩s 艩elc, baritone, Borilee
Collegium 1704
V谩clav Luks, director

Les Bor茅ades, Act IV
Entr茅e de Polymnie
Les musiciens du Louvre
Marc Minkowski, director

Producer: Johannah Smith