Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Rameau, Jean Philippe

RAMEAU, JEAN PHILIPPE, a French musician; born in Dijon, Sept. 25, 1683. At 18 he went to Milan, but soon returned to France, to Paris, Lille, and Clermont in Auvergne. Here he acted as organist to the cathedral, and wrote his "Treatise on Harmony" (1722). Removing to Paris, he published "Modern System" (1726); "Harmonic Generation" (1737), and "Modern Reflections" (1752). In 1733, at the mature age of 50, he produced his first opera, "Hippolyte and Aricie," the libretto of which was written by the Abbé Pellegrin. It created a great sensation. Rameau's best opera was "Castor and Pollux," produced at the Académie Royale de Musique in 1737. Between 1733 and 1760 he composed 21 operas and ballets, as well as numerous harpsichord pieces. Louis XV. created for him the office of composer of chamber music, granted him letters of nobility, and named him a Chevalier de St. Michel. Rameau died Sept. 12, 1764.