Jean-Philippe Rameau: Les Sauvages and other pieces

Disciplines: music

Performers: Yves Rechsteiner (FR), organ; Henri-Charles Caget (FR), percussion

Jean-Philippe Rameau, one of the most important French composers and theorists of the Baroque era was primarily an organist.

Since he did not compose for the organ in particular, it is tempting to adapt certain opera works he composed, taking his own transcriptions from the harpsichord as a model or to study the organ music of his closest student, Claude Balbastre.

The challenge of this project is to use the works of Rameau and transform them into organ pieces suited to a French baroque organ. The style of Daquin and Balbastre has been respected, and the variation ‘double’ of Daquin or Rameau (harpsichord) serve as models for further variations on airs by Rameau.

Performers:

As a teacher of thorough-bass and accompaniment, Yves Rechsteiner is also head of the early music department at the Conservatoire National Supérieur of Lyon. He was formed at the Conservatoire Supérieur of Geneva on the organ  (F.Delor) and the harpsichord (C.Jaccottet). He got further teaching from G.Bovet (organ), A.Staier (forte-piano) and J. Christensen (thorough-bass) at the Schola Cantorum in Basel. From 1992 to 1994, he was price winner at various competitions : Geneva, Speyer, Brugges and Prag.

His recordings cover a vaste repertoire with ensembles or as a soloist. He also developes original projects: he founded the Alpbarock ensemble (arrangement of swiss popular tunes) and he plays regularly with the baritone Arnaud Marzorati (Béranger, revolutionary songs). His latest arrangements of Rameau for organ, recorded for Alpha-Production and published by Le Chant du Monde were acclaimed by the press (Diapason d’or).

The performing activities of Henri-Charles Caget (percussionist) cover a vast period from Middle Age music (Ensemble polisSon), baroque music (le Concert de l’hostel-Dieu) to contemporary music (l’Ensemble de Cuivres et Percussions Odyssée, l’Ensemble orchestral contemporain). He also takes part in various ensembles improvising in dialogue together with other artistic genres like theatre, dance, visual arts and video performances. Caget teaches percussion at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon since 1998. He belongs to the pedagogic team of the GRAME (centre National de Création Musicale). He mainly works on musical theatre genres where he explores the influence of the gesture on musical creation. He also produces musical spectacles for the younger publics on a regular base.