French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau: biography, creativity and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Jean-Philippe Rameau is a popular composer from France, famous for his musical experiments. He was famous throughout Europe, served as a court composer for the French king. He entered the history of world music as a theorist of the Baroque trend, the creator of a new operatic style. We will tell his detailed biography in this article.

Composer's biography

Jean-Philippe Rameau was born in 1683. He was born in the French city of Dijon.

His father was an organist, so the boy was introduced to music from childhood. As a result, he learned the notes before he learned the alphabet. Jean-Philippe Rameau was educated at a Jesuit school. His parents strongly supported his passion for music. Therefore, as soon as he turned 18, he was sent to Italy to improve his musical education. Jean-Philippe Rameau studied in Milan.

Returning to his homeland, he first got a job as a violinist in an orchestra in the city of Montpellier, then followed in his father's footsteps, startingwork as an organist. He constantly performed in Lyon, his native Dijon, Clermont-Ferrand.

In 1722, Jean-Philippe Rameau, whose biography is in this article, finally settled in Paris. He began to compose music for the capital's theaters. It is noteworthy that he wrote not only secular, but also spiritual works. In 1745 he was appointed court composer at the court of Louis XV the Beloved.

Most famous works

Fame to the hero of our article brought secular works. Jean-Philippe Rameau created many pieces for harpsichord, which became so popular in the 20th century that they even began to be played and studied in children's music schools. Also among his works it is worth noting as many as five concertos for violin, harpsichord and viola, characteristic pieces that are distinguished by a bright and memorable style.

The composer also has spiritual works. First of all, these are three Latin motets, that is, polyphonic vocal works that were extremely popular in the Middle Ages in Western Europe, have not lost their relevance in the Renaissance.

Among the popular plays by Rameau, one should note the works "Chicken", "Tambourine", "Hammers", "Dauphine", "Bird Call".

Musical experiments

Today, Ramo is primarily known as a bold musical experimenter. Especially often he set experiments when writing plays forharpsichord. Rameau experimented with rhythm, harmony and texture. Contemporaries directly called his workshop a creative laboratory.

The example of the plays "Cyclops" and "Savages" is indicative. In them, Rameau managed to achieve an amazing sound due to the unusual deployment of the tonal mode. It was quite inventive and unusual for the musical works of the time. In the piece "Enharmonic" Rameau was one of the first in the world to use enharmonic modulations, that is, he used sounds, chords, intervals and keys that coincided in height, which at the same time remained different in spelling.

Instrument of Jean-Philippe Rameau - organ. He also repeatedly experimented with it, achieving a fundamentally new sound.

New opera style

Jean-Philippe Rameau created a new operatic style. This is what he is most famous for among his contemporaries. You can evaluate it by the most famous musical tragedies of the author. For example, this is "Hippolytus and Arisia".

This is his first opera, the libretto for which was written by Simon Joseph Pellegrin. The opera is based on the famous tragedy of Racine called "Phaedra", which, in turn, was written on the basis of the tragedies "Hippolytus" by Euripides and "Phaedra" by Seneca.

Interestingly, this opera was the only one by Rameau that was not popular with the audience. But it also sparked a lively controversy. Adherents of opera traditions believed that it turned out to be too complicated and artificial. SupportersRamo's music was objected to in every possible way.

It is noteworthy that Ramo wrote his first opera when he was almost 50 years old. Before that, he was known as the author of works on music theory and collections of easy pieces for harpsichord. Rameau himself worked for many years to create a great work worthy of the Royal Opera, but could not find a writer who would help him realize this plan. Only acquaintance with Abbé Pellegrin, who by that time was already known as the author of the libretto for the opera "Jephthaea", saved the situation.

Pellegrin agreed to cooperate, but, according to rumors, demanded a promissory note from Rameau in case the work failed. One of the main innovations that the composer used in this opera was the connections that arose between the overtures and the content of the opera itself. So he managed to illustrate the confrontation between the main characters of the work - Hippolyta and Phaedra.

Ramo continued to work on the creation of a new operatic style in the operas "Castor and Pollux", the opera-ballet "Gallant India", the works "Dardanus", "Feasts of Hebe, or Lyrical Gifts", "Naida", "Said", "Zoroaster", "Boreads", the lyrical comedy "Platea". Most of the operas were first staged at the Paris Opera.

Today, seven cantatas have become extraordinarily popular, which were never published during his lifetime. Often the choristers also perform his "Hymn of the Night". However, it has recently become known that this is nota work by Rameau, and a later adaptation of the theme from the opera "Hippolyte and Aricia" by Noyon.

Treatises on Music Theory

At one time, Rameau became famous as a major musical theorist, thanks to whom French classical music and opera stepped far forward. In 1722 he published the famous "Treatise on Harmony Reduced to its Natural Principles".

Also famous were and still arouse interest among specialists in his work in the ways of accompaniment on the harpsichord and organ, research on the origin of harmony, demonstration of its foundations, observations of a person's inclination to music.

In 1760, his treatise "The Laws of Practical Music" caused lengthy discussions.

Composer recognition

After the death of the composer, he was quickly forgotten, since Rameau was replaced by an even more daring reformer Christoph Gluck, who created a fundamentally new opera. Throughout almost the entire 19th century, Rameau's works were not performed. His music was carefully studied only by the composers themselves. For example, Richard Wagner and Hector Berlioz showed interest.

Only at the beginning of the 20th century, the works of Rameau began to return to the stage. today he has become a recognized genius of French music, one of the most influential figures of the mid-eighteenth century.

A crater on the planet Mercury was even named after the composer.