Orchestral suites
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
All of Rameau's orchestral music comes from his operas, which are filled with extraordinary dance music and, of course, overtures. Below are suites of his orchestral music that Boston Baroque has assembled and performed over the years.
Suite from Zoroastre
Ouverture
Menuets 1 & 2
Hymne au soleil
Tambourin en rondeau
Sommeil
Air en rondeau (Chaconne)
Ariette gracieuse
Symphonie
Zoroastre, one of the less often heard operas of Rameau, was not a success at its premiere in 1749, but the composer extensively reworked three of its five acts and remounted it in 1756 to great acclaim. In its revised form, it contains wonderful music and makes a dramatic entertainment out of what is otherwise a weak libretto.
The story concerns the sixth-century Persian priest Zoroaster, elsewhere known as Zarathustra. Mixed with ancient Egyptian symbolism he becomes Sarastro in Mozart's The Magic Flute, and as in the Mozart opera, Zoroastre deals with the conflict between light and darkness, good and evil. The overture which begins this suite, replaced the usual allegorical prologue in the opera and instead -- for the first time in French opera -- depicted in advance the characters and events of the story. According to Rameau's own description, the first section of the overture represents the cruel power of Zoroastre's evil enemy Abramane and the suffering of the oppressed populace, but it ends on a note of hope. The second part shows the goodness of Zoroastre's power and the third depicts the joy of the people whom Zoroastre has delivered from oppression.
In the Hymne au soleil (Hymn to the sun), Zoroastre prays to the sun as a source of light and enlightenment. It is an image that is familiar from mystical hermetic traditions and that was adapted for masonry, as well as for the sun-king imagery of the French monarchy. In the Sommeil, Zoroastre and his lover Amélite welcome the day of their wedding. The last three movements of the suite -- the Air en rondeau, Amélite's ariette and the Symphonie -- are all part of the celebration which follows Zoroastre's victory over the forces of darkness at the end of the opera. Boston Baroque produced the American premiere of the full opera in 1983.
Suite from Platée
Ouverture (the birth of comedy)
Rigaudons I & II
Air pour les fous gai (for followers of Momus and Folly)
Menuets I & II (in the style of a hurdy-gurdy)
Airs vif I & II
Platée, Rameau's only comic opera, was first performed at Versailles on March 31, 1745 for the wedding of the Dauphin with Maria Teresa of Spain. The story would seem cruel today, as well as a curious choice for the occasion. Platée is an unattractive nymph who lives in a marsh pond and vainly considers herself beautiful. Jupiter woos her in sport and leads her to a mock marriage ceremony, only to be interrupted by the jealous Juno. However, Juno, realizing that the courtship could only be a joke, mends her quarrel with her husband, and they leave Platée alone to be mocked by Momus, the god of satire, and a chorus of frogs.
It is a surprising story to have been performed at a wedding. But no criticisms about this have come down to us, only remarks on the brilliance of the music. Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote that it was "the most excellent piece of music that has been heard as yet upon our stage." Four years later, it was given its public premiere at the Paris Opéra and was so successful that it was revived three times in the following decade.
Despite its problematic story, Rameau's music is truly inspired in its comic style. The entertaining overture bears the heading "the birth of comedy," and the comedy itself is full of stunningly orchestrated dance music. It is a rich source of brilliant music for an instrumental suite.
Suite from various operas
Ouverture (from Zaïs)
Menuets 1 & 2 (Platée)
Airs 1 & 2 (Platée)
Menuets 1 & 2 (Zoroastre)
Chaconne (Les Indes galantes)
The overture to Zaïs is one of the most original and surprising opera overtures of the 18th century. It depicts the primordial chaos and the separate elements -- earth, air, fire and water -- trying to combine into an ordered universe. It begins with a solo muted drum, followed by confusing fragments of music in unrelated keys, until the various elements coalesce into a brilliant fast music. The Menuets from Platée are built on a drone "in the style of a hurdy-gurdy," as Rameau creates an unusually beautiful orchestral color using only string instruments. The following pair of Menuets, with its light, flowing lines in piccolos and violins, is from the opera Zoroastre.
The great Chaconne that ends this suite is the dance that ends Les Indes galantes. The length and grand conception of this famous dance left the original choreographer at a complete loss for what do with it, until Rameau outlined for him what he expected. It was a narrative dance, rather than a dance in an old traditional form. Rameau, the revolutionary, was pointing the way to the type of ballet that would be seen soon afterwards in the operas of Gluck and later composers.
Suite from Les fêtes d'Hébé
Ouverture
Gavottes en rondeau 1 & 2
Musette en rondeau
Tambourin en rondeau
Air gracieux
Rigaudons 1 &2
Chaconne
Rameau's opera-ballet Les fêtes d'Hébé ou Les talens lyriques (The Festivities of Hebe or The Lyric Talents) consists of a prologue and three entrées that depict poetry, music, and dance. Premiered in Paris in 1739, it was an enormous success for its composer. Of the brilliant dances in this suite, the Musette and the Tambourin are orchestrations (with some reworking) of harpsichord pieces that Rameau had published fifteen years earlier.
Boston Baroque Performances
Suite from Zoroastre
March 13, 1999
NEC's Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Suite from Platée
December 31, 2019 & January 1, 2020
Sanders Hall, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
October 9, 1992
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
February 19, 1982
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
April 8, 1977
Paine Hall, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Suite from various operas
December 31, 2015 & January 1, 2016
Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Suite from Les fêtes d'Hébé
February 16, 1979
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor