Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 04/24/2013, uploaded on 09/17/2013

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Jean-Philippe Rameau is considered one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era.  His reputation rests chiefly on his operatic output, but he is also recognized as the leading French harpsichord composer of his time, alongside François Couperin.  Having done much Bach and Scarlatti on the modern piano, I want to approach the music of Rameau on the modern instrument with the awareness of the tone color and articulation that is unique to the harpsichord, and with the goal of creating the gracefulness and good taste of the Baroque style.

The two main types of Rameau’s harpsichord music are the French dance suite and characteristic genre pieces.  The latter is often attributed to Baroque dances, suggesting the gesture and poise that is typical of Baroque music.  La Dauphine was said to have been extemporized for the marriage of the Dauphin of France to Maria-Josepha of Saxony in 1747, and it was first published by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1895.  Brilliance and virtuosity are present from the start, followed by the improvisatory scales and arpeggios that progress through the circle of fifths.  Immediate change of texture occurs at the B section, with voices in imitation and trills over continuous dotted rhythms.  Throughout the piece, Rameau experimented with bold harmonies at times, lending dramatic tension. Les Tendres Plaintes (‘The Tender Grievances’) from the second book of Pièces de clavecin (1724) reflects the calm and contemplative side of Rameau.  A rondeau, this piece is simple, yet quietly expressive and sentimental.  Rameau further inserted it as Air tendre en rondeau, air of Amélite,in Act I of his opera, Zoroastre.      Yi-Chiu Rachel Chao

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.