Rameau, Jean-Philippe

(1683-1764)

   composer

   Considered France's greatest 18th-century composer and a highly influential music theorist, Jean-Philippe Rameau was born in Dijon, where he was educated in music by his father, an organist. At age 18, Rameau made a short visit to italy and, returning to France, was subsequently an organist in Avignon, Clermont-Ferrand, and Paris (1705), where he wrote his first work, Premier livre de pièces de clavecin, which at the time went unappreciated. Later, he followed his father as organist at Notre-Dame in Dijon (1709) and then spent some time in lyon. In 1722, his Traité de l'harmonie réduite à ses principes naturels was published, followed some time later by another theoretical work, Génération harmonique (1737). Settling finally in Paris, Rameau taught harpsichord and music theory and wrote compositions, light theatrical pieces, and religious music. He become director of the private orchestra of a wealthy patron (who introduced him to voltaire) and devoted himself to composing operas. His approximately 30 operas include such masterpieces as Hippolyte et Aricie (1733), Castor et Pollux (1737), Les Fêtes d'Hébé (1739), Dardanus (1739), Platée (1745), and Zoroastre (1749). Opera-ballets include Les Indes galantes (1735) and La princesse de Navarre, composed for the marriage of the dauphin (1745). Also at this time, he composed his admirable Pièces de clavecin (1741). Rameau was involved, too, in the Bouffons debate over musical styles (17521754), with jean-jacques rousseau, Melchior de Grimm, and the Encyclopédists, partisans of italian music, in which he defended the post-Lully style of French opera. Although Rameau's compositions went out of style after his death, his theoretical writings detailed concepts that remained basic to European harmony until the end of the 19th century.