RAMEAU

Rameau typically refers to Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764), a French composer and music theorist who was a central figure of the Baroque era. Born in Dijon, he trained as an organist and keyboardist and built his career in Paris, gaining recognition as a prolific composer of keyboard music, vocal works, and, later, influential operas and ballets.

Rameau is renowned for both his expressive stage works and his theoretical contributions. His operas and operas-ballets helped define the French style in the mid-18th century, with notable titles including Hippolyte et Aricie, Les Indes galantes, and Castor et Pollux. In addition to his theatrical music, he produced substantial keyboard literature and larger orchestral works. He was also a prominent music theorist; his Traité de l'harmonie, published in 1722, presented a systematic account of tonal harmony and functional chord progression, arguing for the primacy of tonal roots in establishing musical structure. This work had a lasting influence on later composers and on the study of harmony.

Rameau's legacy lies in his dual impact as a consummate composer of dramatic French music and as a foundational theorist of harmony. His approach helped shape the development of Western tonal music and the French Baroque repertoire. Today, his works are regularly performed and studied for their inventive orchestration, melodic vitality, and insights into harmony and musical form.