Rameau: La naissance d'Osiris & Abaris ou les Boréades

Featuring

Mary Terey-Smith
Capella Savaria
Jean-Philippe Rameau

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Composition History

None of the music heard in these recordings was published during Rameau's lifetime.

Notable Performances

Rameau's last opera, "Les Boréades," was not performed during his lifetime and had to wait until the twentieth century for its first staging.

Performer Biography

Capella Savaria, the chamber ensemble on this recording, was founded in 1981 in Szombathely, Hungary, and uses period instruments for its performances of 17th and 18th-century music.

Critical Reception

Rameau's operas and musical theories were rigorously debated during the "Guerre des Bouffons," despite his desire to avoid the controversy.

Historical Context

During 1752-54, Paris experienced the "Guerre des Bouffons," a bitter debate over the merits of French versus Italian opera, which divided audiences.

Composer Biography

Jean-Philippe Rameau, the composer, was better known as a theorist than an operatic composer when he debuted his first opera in 1733.

Compositional Technique

Rameau's opera "Daphnis et Eglé" includes many dance numbers to compensate for its lack of dramatic interest, and its overture begins in the style of a Mannheim symphony.