Jean-Phillipe Rameau: Les Paladins (1760)

Jean-Phillipe Rameau (1683-1764) was a French composer and music theorists. however, it was not until Rameau reached his 40s that he reached true success in the compositional field (Chapter 15--Baroque). He was one of the most important French composers of the Baroque Era, as he was a brilliant harpsichordist and was perhaps the most accomplished composer of the time for the instrument. Rameau later composed works for orchestra, voice, an even composed music for the opera and the ballet—though not until his 50s.

Rameau faced much controversy throughout his musical career, specifically regarding his first opera Hippolyte et Aricie (1733). Opera was a huge tradition in France, and had rules and regulations that were set in place for others to follow. These basic guidelines for the opera came from Jean-Baptiste Lully, and it was believed by many that Rameau—a once stylistic follower of Lully—had strayed from Lully’s ideals. Though his first opera struck up controversy, it was astoundingly successful and directed the course for the rest of Rameau’s musical dramas.

Rameau’s last produced work was his opera Les Paladins, a comedie lyrique that was first performed at the Paris Opera in 1760. Les Paladins is a three-act opera based on the story Le petit chien qui secoue de l'argent et des pierreries by La Fontaine. The opera has a seven-character cast, with a plot that follows the love triangle of Argie, Anselme, and Atis. Argie is in love Atis, but Anselme—Argie’s guardian—wants to marry her. Anselme pretends to give his blessing, but instead sends for Atis’s death. In a series of events, Anselme is outwitted and Argie and Atis share love and celebration at last.

 There are many interesting facts about Rameau’s opera which illicit wonder and even controversy. Les Paladins was a work that was revised multiple times before its first production—a strikingly different approach to his compositional efforts, as Rameau rarely made revisions. Also, a rare compositional tactic by Rameau was that Les Paladins was a comedie lyrique as opposed to his usual comedie ballet. This particular opera was among the first of such works to be performed in the Opéra (Wolf).

Stylistically, Les Paladins fits completely in the category of classical. Les Paladins was highly infused with the sound of the Baroque period. Musically and harmonically difficult, Rameau was able to show off his theoretic prowess with the immense amount of detail and bold musical choices—including techniques that combatted those of Lully. Throughout his opera there is musical variety, the distinct classical technique basso continuo, as well as dance-like interludes. While the musical techniques combatted those of Lully’s opera, Rameau creates his very own, profound classical work. Les Paladins is beautifully and masterfully orchestrated, and was unlike any other piece of its time.

Below is a link to the Overture and the Introduction of Act I. In both recordings, the Baroque, classical sound is immediately evident.

Works Cited

Chapter 15—Baroque Music. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195379884/student/chapter15/

Jean-Philippe Rameau: a biographical note. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.baroquemusic.org/biorameau.html

Wolf, R. P. (1983). Rameau's Les Paladins From autograph to production. Early Music,11(4), 497-504. doi:10.1093/earlyj/11.4.497