A masterpiece by Jean-Philippe Rameau. Popular classical music.

Harpsichord Pieces for Concert Use, No. 5 in D minorJean-Philippe Rameau

Rameau – Pièces de clavecin en concert N° 5 (La Forqueray) / Il Giardino Armonico

“Concert” (concer) means “concerto,” but it differs from the modern concerto.

In Rameau’s time, it referred to an ensemble work consisting of successive movements centered on dance forms.

This piece is scored for period instruments—harpsichord, violin, viola da gamba, and flute—and offers serene, beautiful, and refined harmonies that are calming to the soul.

DardanusJean-Philippe Rameau

Rameau. Dardanus (Suite). Frans Brüggen.

Dardanus (composed in 1739) is a work into which the composer Rameau poured his utmost ambition; its score is so skillfully crafted and detailed that, in its day, every orchestral player reportedly performed it in a sweat, with barely a moment to catch their breath.

This performance offers a dazzling rendition by Frans Brüggen—hailed as the Paganini of the recorder, one of this century’s foremost virtuosos who became a professor at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague at the age of 21—and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, the period-instrument ensemble he founded.

NaïsJean-Philippe Rameau

Naïs (pastorale héroïque, 1748)

Rameau’s fourth opera, premiered in 1749, was Naïs, commissioned to celebrate the conclusion of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48) with the Treaty of Aachen.

The work is a heroic pastoral depicting the battle between Jupiter and the Titan giants.

The Princess of NavarreJean-Philippe Rameau

Jean-Philippe Rameau – La princesse de Navarre

In his youth, Rameau aspired to a legal career, and he did not begin to gain fame as a composer until after his forties.

With The Queen of Navarre (1744, libretto by Voltaire), he was awarded the title of Composer to the French Royal Court, firmly establishing his position.

The conductor of this performance of The Queen of Navarre, Nicholas McGegan, is one of the foremost conductors of Baroque music.

Contradance in rondo form (Abarrisse)Jean-Philippe Rameau

Les Boréades, Act 5: Contredanses très vives

In September 1764, at the age of 81, the great master of the French Baroque, composer Rameau, brought his life to a close.

His final work was the opera Les Boréades (The North Wind), composed in 1764.

Its most famous number is a rondeau-style contredanse, a dramatically stirring piece that moves the soul.

The Faithful Shepherd (le Berger fidèle)Jean-Philippe Rameau

Rameau, le Berger fidèle, Hélène Guilmette soprano

The Faithful Shepherd, a pastoral drama written by the Italian Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538–1612), was published in 1590 and became immensely popular throughout Europe at the time.

Musicians vied with one another to compose works based on its content.

Rameau, too, composed The Faithful Shepherd as a chamber cantata in 1728, creating a marvelous work that fashioned a world of melodic beauty through balance and harmony.

Surprises of Love (Les Surprises de l’Amour)Jean-Philippe Rameau

J.-Ph. Rameau: Suite from «Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour» RCT 38

The opéra-ballet The Surprise of Love, which premiered in Paris in 1748, is a work in which every element—instrumental music, chorus, and dance—shines with sonic color, exuding the very essence of Rameau’s music.

Under the baton of the outstanding classical conductor Marc Minkowski, it becomes an even more magnificent, masterful performance.