Rameau’s Romanticism
If we regard Beethoven and Schubert’s “intensely personal expression” in their music as the bridge from the Classical to Romantic period, and the “free spirit” that Schumann and Chopin pursued in their music is what represents “Romantic mind” in the 19th century, we can take a glance of Romanticism traced back to late 1600 in Jean Philippe Rameau’s music and his philosophy. Rameau said;
“Expression is the musician’s only object (Girdlestone 1957, 530).”
“A desirable musician is one who had studied nature before depicting it, knowing how to choose colors and shading, whose relations to the necessary expression have been revealed by his heart and mind (Keane 1961, 75).”
Fortunately, numerous primary and scholarly resources reveal how Rameau’s originality and nature manifested in his music. Examples of these sources include historical references from Traié de L’harmonie (Treatise on Harmony) by Rameau himself. In her book ‘The Theoretical Writing of Jean Philippe Rameau,’ Keane describes Rameau as;
“In his (Rameau) opinion, nature governed every art and this thread of thoughts runs through all that he wrote, as he returned again and again to nature as the source of all knowledge and progress in learning (Keane 1961, 0).”
In fact, Rameau’s in-depth research on harmony is based on viewing science as a part of nature, and this rational theory gave him more freedom to be more adventurous in music writing. Rameau was the first composer to establish this logical theory, thoroughly studying the properties of harmony which add color and remove monotony. Therefore, Rameau’s nature-oriented mind is what this paper views as a foundation that added “Romantic spirit” to his music. To illustrate Rameau’s transcendental insight that predicted the 19th century’s unconfined spirit, this paper examines Rameau’s Romanticism with several evidential assertions. First, Rameau’s Romanticism can be found in his treatment of avian music. Rameau’s use of birdsong is metamorphosis; Rameau composed birdsong imaginatively, not merely imitatively. This approach is closer to 19th century avian music than that which prevailed in the Baroque period. In addition, Rameau exploits programmatic music more implicitly and privately, which creates inward quality for which 19th century composers pursued. Rameau adventurously describes diverse objects including emotion in his programmatic music, and his innovative treatment of harmony is a device for a poetic effect in his programmatic music. Lastly, Rameau’s Romanticism manifests as his unconventional use of enharmonicism. In his writings, Rameau employs retrospective enharmonicism using the quintuple proportion modulation, which involves frequent use of chromaticism; Rameau explains that this type of enharmonicism requires trained ears since the enharmonic modulation progression is beyond what is aurally acceptable (Rehding 2005, 147). These implicit and colorful harmonic vocabularies were a rather innovative and romantic concept for this period.
Rameau’s treatment of birdsongs- Ornithomorphism
The treatment of birdsong, ornithomorphism, in music has evolved over the centuries in western music. Earlier ornithomorphism was akin to merely quoting the sound of birds and the musician's creativity was rarely involved. For example, even though Athanasiur Kircher’s 1650 treatise Musurgia universalis is considered to be fairly accurate from a scientific view, his nightingale is mere imitation and only produces a melismatic effect (Edgecombe 2011, 73). (Ex. 1)
(Ex. 1 Kircher’s Nightingale)
Even 18th century composers preferred a straightforward birdsong style that did not involve complex harmonic progression (e.g., modulation). Because they prioritized accuracy of imitation over musical effect, bird’s incapability of modulation strongly discouraged the use of modulation in birdsongs of the time (Edgecombe 2011, 92). As a result, even avian music from great composers such as Vivaldi and Handel are rather referential in that it involves only diatonic rendition rather than an artistic impression of birdsong (Edgecombe 2011, 92). In Vivaldi’s Flute concerto in D major, RV 428 “The Goldfinch'' and Handel’s organ concerto “Cuckoo and nightingale,” even though the composers maximized the dynamics of instruments by integrating birdsongs in their composition, their birdsongs depend on melodic ornamentation or motivic fragments quoting birds calls directly. In Handel’s organ concerto, ‘Cuckoo’ motive is related to the interval of third whereas ‘nightingale’ is shown as an ornamental figure. (Ex.2)
(Ex. 2 Handel’s Organ concerto ‘Cuckoo and Nightingale’
On the contrary, ornithomorphism exists in Rameau’s music to enhance the musical effect that turned into something independently musical rather than referential. In Rameau’s bird music such as Le Rappel des Oiseaux, Les Tourbillonsfrom from ‘Pièce de Clavessin’ (1724), and La Poule from ‘Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin (1726-1727), he does not quote bird calls literally, instead using birds’ gestures in a more generic way. This writing was radical for the early 18th century because it entails the composer's subjectivity. In addition, the treatment of harmony involves frequent chromaticism and modulation, which suggests his ornithomorphism is akin to music in the 19th century. The creation of bird imitation in the 19th century is more mysterious and elusive (Edgecombe 2011, 92). In Schumann’s Vogel Als Prophet from Waldszenen, Tchaikovsky’s Lark from ‘Album for the Young,’ and his ballet Swan Lake, the birdsongs do not rely on melodic fragments, rather, they are highly based on harmonic palette. (Ex.3)
(Ex.3 Schumann Vogel Als Prophet)
In the same manner, in Rameau’s Le Rappel des Oiseaux, the significance lies in his treatment of enharmonic progression in relation to avian mannerisms. (Ex.4)
(Ex.4 Rameau Le Rappel des Oiseaux)
In the piece, Rameau’s use of ornamentation such as trill can be interpreted as a bird’s sonic effect whereas the intervallic motive of fourth throughout the entire piece represents a bird’s kinetic effect. Rameau’s enharmonic progression with ‘E’ centered followed by a descending stepwise motion ‘D-C-B’ (mm. 12-21) is his brilliant way of describing his imaginative birds’ gesture more romantically.
Rameau’s programmatic music
Another evidence of Rameau’s “Romanticism” spirit can be found in his programmatic music. Even though the term “programme music” was introduced by Franz Liszt (1811-1886), the idea of referring to extra-musical features in music can be traced back to 1529. Programme music differed in the 16th century and the 19th century. The earlier pieces such as Janequin’s La Bataille (1529), Byrd’s The Battle (1581-91), and Kuhnau’s Biblischer Historian (Biblical Sonatas) (1700) are entitled music that provide unity via programmatic elements that serve a purely narrative ‘meaning’ such as story or scene. On the contrary, the concept of programme music from the 19th century seemed much broader. Partially coined by German romantic enthusianst Friedrich Niecks (1845-1924), the term programme music includes all music that contains any extra-musical reference, whether to objective events or to subjective feelings (Scruton 2001, 1). How ‘poetically’ the music is described is another differentiating aspect in 19th century programmatic music. To be specific, the Romanticism idiom, “inward” quality that found in Schumann’s fictitious altered-egos and Liszt’s reinterpreted literature, represent the poetic aesthetic in the programmatic music in the 19th century. In that sense, Rameau succeeded in characterizing feelings, and his music is intelligible without the help of words (Girdlestone 1957, 528). Rameau was the first composer who believed that music could have any expression independently without any extraneous help (Girdlestone 1957, 516). From that perspective, Rameau’s abstract and subjective entitled music such as Les Soupires, La Joyeuse, Les Tendres Plaintes, L’Indifferente, and Les Sauvages is much similar to the programme music that existed in the Romantic period. There are two types of Rameau’s subjective programme compositions. Girdlestone divides them largely into the characteristic or triumph and vengeance, and sorrow and mourning. The latter style shows ‘inward’ and ‘private’ qualities that reveal Rameau’s romantic mind through his exquisite compositional technique. For example, a ‘sigh’ motif in Les Soupirs appears as a descending stepwise motion. Rameau’s use of a rest, which creates another motive by binding with syncopated notes following, is significant because it associates with physical breath, or sigh if it is metaphorically expressed. (Ex.5). From the same perspective, the leaps motif in Les Tendres Plaintes well represents its title (Ex. 6).
(Ex.5 Rameau Les Soupirs)
(Ex.6 Les Tendres Plaintes)
Also significant is that Rameau’s elaborate harmonic use is intimately linked to evoke certain emotions. This is remarkable because studying and exploiting the properties of harmony for any musical purpose was such an innovative idea for the early 17th century. Rameau asserts,
“One of the most fruitful springs of emotion lies in modulation. In fact, the strength of expression depends more on modulation than on mere melody (Girdlestone 1957, 533).”
In more detail, the passages in Les Soupirs with special dissonance note G natural (mm 38-40) and in Les Tendres Plaintes with B natural note (mm 17-20) are specific moments from unexpected chromaticism that attract attention. Rameau’s detailed scientific knowledge of physiological and psychological interaction between music and the human mind is remarkable for the 17th century. Rameau said, “The imitation of nature is the object of all art, whatever its medium: language, colour, sound (Girdlestone 1957, 524).” Nature and programmatic music intertwine in Rameau’s musical world if we understand nature as a ‘state of mind’ (Riley 2002, 156). As Rameau described the ‘desirable musician,’ he associated the moods and passions of ‘nature’ that should be reflected in the music with the musician's heart and mind (Keane 1961, 75).
Rameau’s Enharmonicisim
In this chapter, this paper will expand Rameau’s enharmonic usage that was briefly discussed in the previous chapters. Rameau’s creative and comprehensive view on modulation is responsible for his special treatment of enharmonicism, which appears in his plethora of innovative compositions. In result, Rameau’s opera Hippolyte et Aricie - Trio des Parques, Les Indes Galantes - Les Incas du Pérou and his keyboard suite works including L’Enharmonique, Le Rappel des Oiseaux have been mentioned in many scholars’ discussions for several reasons; the discussions include Alexander Rehding’s ‘Rousseau, Rameau, and Enharmonic Furies in the French Enlightenment,’(Rehding 2005) ‘Cynthia Verba ‘The development of Rameau’s Thoughts on Modulation and Chromatics,’ ‘Paula Telesco ‘Forward-looking Retrospection: Enharmonicism in the Classical Era,’ and Charles Dill ‘Rameau’s Imaginary Monsters: Knowledge, Theory, and Chromaticism in Hippolyte et Aricie.’ (Verba 1973), (Telesco 2002), (Dill 2002). Mainly, Rameau’s usage of ‘retrospective’ type of enharmonicism attracts significant attention from scholars. ‘Retrospective’ enharmonicism as opposed to ‘immediate or simultaneous’ enharmonicism is rather rarely used during the 17-18th centuries. Because enharmonic techniques were considered oddities that occur only on special occasions, the majority of early composers restricted their enharmonic usage to immediate/simultaneous enharmonicim types, if used at all (Telesco 2002, 333). Immediate enharmonicism is based on reinterpretation of two chord functions that share the same notes at a specific point in the music, which associates with diatonic relationship rather than complicated chromaticism. (Ex. 7)
(Ex.7 Pivot chords in Immediate enharmonicism)
On the other hand, retrospective enharmonicism is less common than immediate enharmonicism but it is remarkable because it is associated with tonal expansion of the diatonic system into the chromatic tonal system of the 19th century (Telesco 2002, 334). This type of enharmonicism does not require reinterpretation. More specifically, in the music, the reinterpretation will not be heard at any particular point, instead, a series of enharmonic progression and chord relationship is signified. Thus, it is heard only in ‘retrospect,’ and there is no aural clue (Telesco 2002, 334). For this reason, Rameau indeed contends that the appreciation of these more complex relations requires a more experienced ear (Rehding 2005, 147). In more details, in Rameau’s Trio des Parques from Hippolyte et Aricie (1733), what is heard is a series of VI-i-V relationships (mm. 29-39) (Ex. 8) while the i-VI-vii7-V relationship is signified in his L’Enharmonique (1726-7) (mm. 15-19) (Ex. 9). The significance is that this retrospective enharmonic progression is the 19th century musical language. Examples include numerous instrumental music and Lied of Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms. Example 10 shows resemblance between Rameau’s compositions and 19th century music by suggesting the retrospective enharmonic progression analysis in Schubert (1797-1828) composition; the enharmonicism is shown as a series of I-bVI in Schubert’s String Quartet Op. 161 (1826) (mm. 164-174), and Schubert’s piano sonata D. 845, first movement (1825) (mm. 95-135). Paula explains the resemblance between Rameau’s innovative enharmonicism usage and 19th century music.
“These two Rameau excerpts (Hippolyte et Aricie and Les Incas du Pérou), so controversial in his day, are remarkable for how far they stray from early 18th century practice. Hearing them as isolated examples, one would probably place their dates of composition considerably later than 1733 and 1735. Rameau recognized that harmonic movement by one or more invariant intervals (i.e.. Intervals of the same size and quality) undermines a sense of tonal progression and temporarily suspends ronality, which he explained as a system where enharmonicism does not find a permanent home but is allowed in only as an occasional visitor (Telesco 2002, 336).”
(Ex.8 Rameau Hippolyte et Aricie - Trio des Parques, and its enharmonic progression; mm.29-39)
(Ex.9 Rameau Keyboard Suite in G/g L’Enharmonique)
(Ex. 9 Rameau’s keyboard suite L’Enharmonique, and its enharmonic progression; mm. 4-10, 15-20)
(Ex. 10 Schubert String Quartet Op. 161, and its enharmonic progression; mm. 164-174)
(Ex. 11 Schubert Piano Sonata D. 845- first movement mm. 95-135)
From a certain perspective, Rameau’s enharmonicism is controversial because it is particularly associated with his calculation of enharmonic equivalent pitches derived from equal temperament issues (Rameau’s second treatise, Nouveau systême (1726) (Rehding 2005, 147). To be specific, from Rameau’s observation, D# in B major triad and Eb in Eb major is not exactly the same; his calculations reveal that the difference between them is 128 to 125, or what is called a quarter-tone (quart de ton) (Rehding 2005, 147). For this reason, Rameau revealed frustration about the enharmonic passage in Hippolyte et Aricie “…For this reason, we had to alter this passage for the theatre, but have left it in the print in the form originally envisaged, so that the curious may form their own opinion of it… (Rameau, Génération harmonique, Paris, Prault et fils, 1737, S. 154–155)” (Bouissou 1991). While we examine and respect Rameau’s perspective as a scientist, how we can address and reconcile certain criticism based on Rameau’s scientific attitudes remains a question. Certain criticism such as viewing Rameau’s music as mechanical and merely analytical should be revised. Charles Dill argues in his article ‘Rameau’s Imaginary Monsters: Knowledge, Theory, and Chromaticism in Hippolyte et Aricie’ argues that perceived difficulties in reading Rameau’s theories should be in relation to ‘musical’ practice (Dill 2002, 436). As Charles Dill explains, if we reconsider Rameau’s innovative musical style not as merely a mathematical problem but as creative figures concurrently developed with his theoretical ideas, we will finally have an integrated lens to understand Rameau’s humble but innovative – romantic – mind.
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