Suite in E Minor

Rameau’s early Baroque predecessor, Charpentier, described the key of E Minor as “effeminate, amorous, plaintive”—qualities that pervade this suite from the Pièces de clavecin (Harpsichord Pieces) of 1724. Rameau begins with a quartet of dances: a wistful “Allemande”; a “Courante” whose filigree embellishments lend it a balletic grace; and two lilting “Gigues”—the first tender and plaintive, the second jaunty and rustic, suggesting pastoral melodies and droning shepherd pipes. The suite’s centrepiece, “Le rappel des oiseaux” (“The Calling of Birds”), is a brilliant Baroque tone-painting inspired by chattering birdsong. A distinctly Gallic air wafts through the next five pieces: a triptych of “Rigaudons” (robust French folk dances); a serene “Musette”—a peasant dance to the gentle drone of the French bellows-blown bagpipes; and an exotic “Tambourin”, whose percussive rhythms suggests the eponymous Provençal drum. To close the suite, Rameau sketches an affectionate portrait of a village girl, “La villageoise”, with all the colour and charm of a Watteau painting.