Music at Versailles

[vinteuil]

Good to learn of another fellow Ramiste!

Indeed so! - tho' I think the great Rameau authority Cuthbert Girdlestone (such a good name... ) suggested Ramellian

[MickyD]

Hello, Vinteuil - you're right of course. Good job I didn't choose Ramoneur, which as I am sure you know means a chimney sweep!

[Caliban]

As a fellow Ramellian, I recall there was just one other short Rameau piece - as well as an extract from the Platée suite - which was an Air Polonais for harpsichord, played by Olivier Baumont, the chap who was on the programmes with DM.

[MickyD]

Caliban and Vinteuil,

You might be interested in this YouTube clip of a suite from Les Indes Galantes played by Jordi Savall's band. The recorded sound is nice but I'm not too sure about the Methuselah figure on the drums section!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhrpzqERzFY

[Caliban]

Caliban and Vinteuil,

You might be interested in this YouTube clip of a suite from Les Indes Galantes played by Jordi Savall's band. The recorded sound is nice but I'm not too sure about the Methuselah figure on the drums section!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhrpzqERzFY

You're a great one for spotting weird looking people in early music bands (not so difficult, you'll tell me... )! If it's not Nosferatu Niquet, now we have Terry Jones's hermit from "Life of Brian"...

I'm sure I've seen him playing in real life actually, and we had a giggle - though I haven't seen Savall so he must play for other ensembles, like most of them do. Or perhaps he just rents out the beard and wig...

[MickyD]

Yes, I thought the eccentric "brown rice and sandals" brigade had long since disappeared from the early music world, but it would appear not!

[bicycledave]

Actually, I think there was only a small suite of Rameau dances from "Platée" that featured in the programmes, so you didn't miss a great deal of him, bicycledave. Good to learn of another fellow Ramiste!

I guess I didn't miss much, then, in regard to Rameau. - My first serious introduction to Rameau was a Composer or the Week series on him in 2008, and I've been a huge fan every since. It has been an expensive addiction; those William Christie DVDs are not cheap!

[Caliban]

I guess I didn't miss much, then, in regard to Rameau. - My first serious introduction to Rameau was a Composer or the Week series on him in 2008, and I've been a huge fan every since. It has been an expensive addiction; those William Christie DVDs are not cheap!

Mine was the aria from Castor et Pollux "Tristes apprêts, pâles flambeaux", in the William Christie HM recording, also thanks to R3 (Early Music Show I think). Opened up the whole world of baroque opera for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joJ37...embedded#at=26

[MickyD]

I think my ears were first opened to Rameau with that wonderful recording of "Pygmalion" by Gustav Leonhardt and La Petite Bande at the end of the 70s - still the best version for me. Then came their similarly impressive recordings of "Zais" and "Zoroastre".