French Opera Before 1750

Extract

French opera before 1750 is interesting, apart from its intrinsic musical value. It affords an example, not uncommon in the history of music, of specialisation carried to a remarkable degree : an example of the establishment of a convention which, because it served admirably the purpose it was intended to fulfil, maintained an unbroken tradition for more than a century, and was affected by changes of detail only. With few exceptions, also, the composers were entirely devoted to its cause and made little reputation outside its sphere. The exceptions, strangely enough, were men who also achieved something of a reputation in Church music. None of them had any lasting fame in the realms of secular absolute music, the exceptions to this statement being Marin Marais, who is remembered rather for his solo music for viols than for his operas, and Rameau, whose works for the clavecin and researches in acoustics would by themselves have won him a niche in the temple of fame. Of the whole group of composers, only two, Lully and Rameau, have any existence in the minds of the average musical man of to-day, and even their personalities are but shadowy.