Rameau, Jean-Philippe
Rameau, Jean-Philippe (b Dijon, bap. 25 Sept 1683; d Paris, 12 Sept 1764). French composer and theorist. He was one of the greatest figures in French musical history, a theorist of European stature and France's leading 18th-century composer. He made important contributions to the cantata, the motet and, more especially, keyboard music, and many of his dramatic compositions stand alongside those of Lully and Gluck as the pinnacles of pre-Revolutionary French opera. 1. Life. 2. Cantatas and motets. 3. Keyboard music. 4. Dramatic music. 5. Theoretical writings. WORKS BIBLIOGRAPHY GRAHAM SADLER (1–4, work-list, bibliography) THOMAS CHRISTENSEN (5, bibliog- raphy) 1. Life. (i) Early life. (ii) 1722–32. (iii) 1733–44. (iv) 1745–51. (v) 1752–64. (i) Early life. His father Jean, a local organist, was apparently the first professional musician in a family that was to include several notable keyboard players: Jean-Philippe himself, his younger brother Claude and sister Catherine, Claude's son Jean-François (the eccentric ‘neveu de Rameau’ of Diderot's novel) and Jean-François's half-brother Lazare. Jean Rameau, the founder of this dynasty, held various organ appointments in Dijon, several of them concurrently; these included the collegiate church of St Etienne (1662–89), the abbey of StSt Bénigne (1662–82), Notre Dame (1690–1709) and St Michel (1704–14). Jean-Philippe's mother, Claudine Demartinécourt, was a notary's daughter from the nearby village of Gémeaux. Al- though she was a member of the lesser nobility, her family, like that of her husband, included many in humble occupations.
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