General Notes on Versailles

Although humble in origin, the hunting lodge at Versailles certainly outgrew its first structure to become the most glamorous palace in Europe. Today, it remains a landmark of France’s magnificent history, from Louis XIII in 1630 to the bloody days of Revolution in 1789. And like moths to the light, Europe’s finest musicians were drawn to Versailles to compose, perform, instruct, and indulge in all the festivities that Parisian court life could provide. At the time of Louis XIV, the so-called “Sun King,” the list of musicians at Versailles reads like an illustrious Who’s Who and includes many names on tonight’s program.
No one was more important to music at Versailles than Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-87). Lully would become the touchstone for generations of French composers, though ironically he was born in Florence and worked hard to dispel notions that he had brought “Italianisms” into French music. Lully entered the service of Louis XIV in 1652 and achieved almost immediate fame for his striking ballets; on occasion, the King himself would dance! He was took charge of the royal string band, helping to fashion the violons du roy into one of the premier ensembles in western Europe. In the vocal genres, Lully achieved brilliant success with operas on mythical or classical topics. His career waxed and waned as his personal behavior and affairs often earned him official disfavor. Lully’s most famous faux pas was also his last. While conducting a performance and using a heavy staff to beat time against the floor, he struck his foot. The subsequent infection went unattended, and he died within two months.
Equally famous is Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), whose legacy in composition and theory has cast a long shadow over French music history. His system of chord theory and fundamental bass progressions laid out in the 1722 Treatise on Harmony remains in common use today. At the time, he was best known for challenging Lully’s command of the opera world. Rameau often contributed to the 18th-century debate over national influences in French music. His simple airs and gracious instrumental writing helped forge the signature clarity of the new French style, as it moved away from the overly decorated mannerisms of the prior generations.
The third major name in French music is Couperin, a dynasty of composers and performers active from 1601 until 1750. The scion of the family, François Couperin (1668-1733), created an enormous treasury of harpsichord works, as well as arguably the most important treatise on performance written during the Baroque era. He led a new generation of composers at Versailles that included Charles Dieupart (1667-1740), lutenist Robert de Visée (1655-1732), Antoine Forqueray (1671-1745), and Marin Marais (1656-1728), who studied opera composition with Lully. Marais and Forqueray were widely considered the leading gambists of the day, and both created fantastic suites for their chosen instrument. Younger still are violinist Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764), who was active in Paris when a young Mozart arrived in the early 1760’s, and keyboardist and teacher Jacques Duphly (1715-89), whose style overlaps with the new galant classical idiom.
François’ uncle, Louis Couperin (1626-61), is the man whose rapturous “unmeasured” preludes offer a unique window into the world of 17th-century improvisation. His career lasted barely a decade; nothing was published during his lifetime, and we are extremely fortunate that some 200 keyboard works have been preserved in two manuscript collections. Jean-Henri D’Anglebert (1629-91), an exact contemporary of Louis, was another brilliant harpsichordist maintained at Versailles. His collections were lavishly engraved for printing and included an invaluable “table of ornaments” explaining in detail how each turn, trill, or mordent should be realized.
Tonight’s program also includes works by composers best known for vocal music. Leading that list is Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704), who worked for many years as private chapel composer for the son of Louis XIV. His style flourished after a period of study in Rome, which brought him into direct contact Giacomo Carissimi and the latest developments in Italian vocal technique. Best known for sacred masterpieces like Te Deum, Charpentier also circulated in the theater world with Molière and Corneille. The earliest figure presented tonight is the singer and dancer Michel Lambert (1610-96), who worked at Versailles from 1651 until his death. Details of his life are hardly more documented than those of Michel de Montéclair (1667-1737), who brought the bass viol into greater prominence and made significant developments in opera orchestration.
Each in his own way, these composers built a musical edifice every bit the rival of their glittering palace around them. Musicians and their careers often fall victim to the whim of employers and patrons. It is indeed fortunate that Louis XIV was himself an astute supporter of the musical arts, for his unprecedented 72-year reign could have made or broken French culture for generations. However one feels about the disconnect between royal splendor and the poverty of the larger population, it was Louis’ vision that transformed a simple hunting lodge into what we see today. Moreover, the sheer scope of operations at Versailles meant that many, many musicians were required. And that diversity and “critical mass” of talent tipped the scales in favor of a musical culture admitting no equal anywhere in Europe.

(c) Jason Stell