Jean-Philippe Rameau: Complete Solo Keyboard Works (2018)

Late in his career, Jean-Philippe Rameau was celebrated for his colorful operas and ballets, but prior to these successes, his fame rested on his Traité de l'harmonie (1722) and a series of keyboard pieces which were published over the years as three suites. These works have been frequently played on harpsichord and piano, though among contemporary scholarly performances, the harpsichord is increasingly favored for recordings. Steven Devine's 2018 set of the complete keyboard music on Resonus offers the Premier livre de ... Read More

Late in his career, Jean-Philippe Rameau was celebrated for his colorful operas and ballets, but prior to these successes, his fame rested on his Traité de l'harmonie (1722) and a series of keyboard pieces which were published over the years as three suites. These works have been frequently played on harpsichord and piano, though among contemporary scholarly performances, the harpsichord is increasingly favored for recordings. Steven Devine's 2018 set of the complete keyboard music on Resonus offers the Premier livre de pièces de clavecin (1705/06), the Pièces de clavessin (1724), and the Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin (1726/27), plus a smattering of free-standing miniatures, including the Menuet en rondeau, the Cinq pièces, La Dauphine, Air pour Zéphire (in a transcription by Devine), and Rameau's keyboard reduction of the overture, airs, and dances from the opera Les Indes galantes (1735/36). This three-disc set is comprehensive and the most thorough presentation of Rameau's keyboard... Read Less