Jean Philippe Rameau Zoroastre

Making full use of Drottningholm Theatre's unique 17th century Baroque theatre machinery, as well as his deep creative understanding of the profound drama of the work, stage director Pierre Audi creates a production of Zoroastre that completely accords with the spirit of Rameau. True to the form of the tragédie lyrique, choreographer Amir Hosseinpour's dances perfectly match the weight and meaning of both plot and music. The ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, reinforced with musicians from the Drottningholm Court Theatre Orchestra and Chorus, is expertly and passionately led into the musical stratosphere by musical director Christophe Rousset. This intensely dramatic production is captured live in vibrant High Definition video and true surround sound.

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) left two very different versions of his tragédie en musique Zoroastre: the first, in 1749, suffered from cabals and the work was withdrawn from the repertory. Rameau gave it a thoroughgoing revision in 1756. At this time, he was at the height of his powers. Melody, harmony, orchestration and choral writing no longer held any secrets for him. Zoroastre brought still further innovation. For the first time, he dispensed with a prologue, and turned the overture into a philosophical ‘programme’, the struggle between day and night, between good and evil. The 1749 version is entirely governed by avant-garde ideas; Zoroastre resembles Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, but two generations earlier. This disconcerted some of the audience: Zoroastre was a moral, social and philosophical opera.

The numerous instrumental pieces or 'Symphonies' found in the dramatic works of Rameau are remarkably effective on the harpsichord: the composer himself, with his transcription of 'Les Indes Galantes' invited other musicians to continue this tradition.
Seizing on the formidable array of material available in his operas: Platée, Zoroastre, Dardanus, Les Paladins, Pygmalion… Pierre Hantai and Skip Sempé, our finest exponents of this repertoire, take obvious pleasure in revealing, through the two harpsichords, the immense richness of this music, full of surprises and imagination.

La Naissance d'Osiris (Osiris birth) was performed in 1754 at the birth of Louis XVI in Fontainebleau. Rameau composed the one-act ballet based on a libretto by Louis de Cahusac, who has already provided the libretto for numerous other works by Rameau (Zoroastre, Anacréon, Les Fêtes de l'hymen et de l'Amour …). The piece depicts the birth of the goddess Osiris and symbolizes the birth of the grandson of Louis XV.

Jordi Savall - Jean-Philippe Rameau - L'Orchestre de Louis XV (2011) {2CD Set Alia Vox AVSA 9882A+B}
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© 2011 Alia Vox | AVSA 9882A+B
Classical / Baroque / Orchestral

Following the success of the albums L’orchestre de Louis XIII (Philidor) and L’orchestre du Roi Soleil (Lully), Jordi Savall explores another dynastic opus, this time focusing on music by Jean-Philippe Rameau. Once again, Le Concert des Nations sparkles in these four orchestral suites, which exemplify the genius of the great French composer. With glistening orchestral colors and breathtaking virtuosity, Savall and his group demonstrate their special affinity with the repertoire of the XVIIIth century. Offered at a special low price, this high-resolution recording is a must-have for anyone interested in this repertoire.

Jean-Philippe Rameau - Orchestral Suites, The complete Philips & Glossa recordings - Frans Brüggen (2018) {4CD Set Glossa}
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© 2018 Glossa / Note 1 Music | GCD 921125
Classical / Baroque / Period Instruments / Orchestral

Such was the significance of the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau for Frans Brüggen that the Dutch conductor’s first concert with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century featured a suite by the French composer, and his final directing appearance, shortly before his death in 2014, did likewise. Between times this inspirational musician and his orchestra recorded a series of orchestral suites drawn from the opéras-ballets, tragédies en musique and pastorales-héroïques, first for Philips and then for the orchestra’s own imprint on Glossa.

While Freemasonry's secrecy has always aroused distrust, its enlightened principles and belief in virtue, liberty, fraternity, and equality have attracted large numbers of intellectuals and artists; one of its most famous adherents was Mozart. However, his opera The Magic Flute was not the first to be inspired by its teachings but was preceded in 1749 by Rameau's Zoroastre. Its initial reception was so cool that Rameau and his librettist, Louis de Cahusac (a prominent Mason) undertook extensive revisions. The new version was produced–by coincidence or fate?–in 1756, the year of Mozart's birth, and became a great success.

The soloists of the Simón Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela have invited harpsichordist Bruno Procopio to conduct a programme dedicated entirely to Jean-Philippe Rameau. Procopio has also recorded the 'Pièces de clavecin en concerts' and first performed this all-Rameau programme at the Simón Bolivar Concert Hall in 2012. Discovering French Baroque music was a new departure for the Venezuelan musicians who responded with characteristic enthusiasm and verve to this dance-related suite, albeit working as a smaller group than usual. Maestro José Antonio Abreu, founder of El Sistema is also an acclaimed harpsichorist but as yet there are no period instrument orchestras in Venezuela.