Ensemble Masques: Rameau, Master Orchestrator

 

“No one before Rameau had been able to distinguish the subtle nuances between the tender, the sensual, the passionate and the lustful with such precision,” the philosopher Diderot claimed of his composing contemporary who already equalled him in fame. And he was right! With the symphony orchestra still a distant future dream, Rameau transformed the baroque orchestra into a laboratory of sound. He introduced new instruments, experimented with playing techniques such as pizzicato and glissando, and played a virtuoso game with timbres in what musicologists would come to call “a counterpoint of sound colours”. Led by Olivier Fortin, Ensemble Masques goes in search of the genius Rameau in orchestral suites from some of his most famous works, including Les Indes Galantes, Hippolyte et Aricie and Pygmalion. Expect a feast of contrasts, with whisper-soft strings and celebratory trumpets, high-spirited dances and dramatic storm scenes – detailed sound tableaux that are bursting with life! 

J.P. Rameau: Orchestral suites from Hippolyte et Aricie, Les Indes Galantes and Pygmalion

Ensemble Masques | Olivier Fortin, artistic leader