Jean-Philippe Rameau - Naïs

"When 'Naïs' first appeared in 1749, Rameau's prestige stood higher than at any other period of his life-time. The quarrels between his detractors (the conservative lullistes) and supporters (ramistes) that had raged around his first operas in the 1730s had now largely abated; the notorious Querelle des Bouffons was not to begin until the next decade. 

 

"In the intervening lull, Rameau enjoyed the enthusiastic support of a wide cross-section of the French public, and his works now dominated the stage of the Paris Opera. Be-tween February 1748 and December 1749, no fewer than seven of them ('Naïs' being the last but one) were given in quick succession, prompting the Marquis d'Argenson, who had overall control of the Opera and who disliked Rameau's music, to decree that no more than two of his works should be given in the same season. 

 

"'Naïs' was the fourth of at least seven operas in which Rameau collaborated with Louis de Cahusac, the librettist of 'Zaïs' and 'Zoroastre'. Although not classified by the composer, it belongs to that sub-species of French opera known as the pastorale heroique. Such works are clearly distinguishable from opera-ballet by their use of a single continuous plot; at the same time, they lack the sustained dramatic tone of the tragedie en musique, and are normally cast in three acts rather than five. They are 'heroic' only in that they happen to involve the actions of heroes or gods.

 

"The work was commissioned by the Opéra to celebrate the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the much-criticised conclusion of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48). Whatever reservations the French public may have had about the event it celebrated, this 'Opera pour la Paix' was popular enough in Rameau's day, and received the very respectable total of 34 performances on its first run. This is hardly surprising, since the opera contains some of the composer's most inventive and entertaining music, and shows little sign of the lack of enthusiasm on his part suspected by some earlier commentators. 

 

"The topicality of the work is confined entirely to the prologue, 'L'Accord des Dieux', an allegory in which the recent war is represented as the attempt of the Titans and Giants to storm the heavens. Its portrayal of the mananimity of the victorious Jupiter attracted some sardonic comment, since it was widely thought that the French king's concessions in the recent treaty had been unwisely generous: 'Jupiter is seen there, with his thunderbolts, surrounded by his gods and smiting the Giants. He is Louis XV, by your leave. But do not worry; you will see George II represented by Neptune and sharing the Universe with his brother' (Clement, 'Les Cinq annees litte-raires', 20 May 1749). 

 

"The staging of this battle seems to have been spectacular. The diarist Colle was particularly impressed by the stage machine which the Giants used 'to pile up the mountains' and by its sudden collapse that cause them all to fall helter-skelter to the ground.

 

"The music that Rameau provided for the scene is astonishingly bold. The violent syncopations and pungent dissonances of the Overture, depicting 'the Titans' cries and tumultuous movements', continues into the first choruses, to create a lengthy and amazingly powerful opening sequence. (The composer had already used this linking of overture and first scene in 'Zaïs' (1748) and was to return to it in 'Les Boreades'; it was, in fact, only one of a number of ways he devised of integrating overture and drama in his later operas, anticipating Gluck's 'innovations' in this respect by several decades.) 

 

"The main subject matter of the opera owes nothing to contemporary events, and had probably already been chosen by Rameau and Cahusac before the commission was issued. Like so many French librettos of the period, it is derived from classical mythology. Modern reference works, however, have very little to say about the water-nymph Naïs herself, and nothing about Neptune's love for her that forms the mainspring of a very straightforward plot. Cahusac tells us that she was renowned for her beauty and her entrancing voice; lacking information on her parentage, he has supposed her to be the daughter of Tiresius, the blind soothsayer who could predict the future by interpreting birdsong. 

 

"Such liberties with classical sources allow the librettist to construct a plot rich in spectacle and 'local colour', for both of which he was well known. In Act I, for example, he can justify the introduction of the Isthmian Games which form the colourful background to much of the act (and which were similar to the Olympics in character) since the games were the chief festival sacred to Neptune. The author cleverly manages to keep the action going during what was traditionally pure divertissement, and even derives a certain irony from the fact that, when the disguised Neptune first pays court to Naïs, she is forced to conceal her feelings for the 'unknown stranger' while presiding over a celebration in his honour.

 

"Similarly, the Act II divertissement, during which Neptune's rivals ask Tiresius to predict who would eventually win Naïs's affections, is also used to further the action, in providing the motivation for the denouement: the answer that the soothsayer gives — to beware of the 'inconnu' and of the God of the Seas —causes the rivals to take up arms against the stranger, Neptune himself. 

 

"'Naïs' contains a wealth of fine and varied vocal music. The choruses, in particular, maintain a remarkably high level of invention. Those of the prologue have already been mentioned; their forcefulness is in striking contrast to the jaunty music for the arrival of the Sea divinities 'Chantons Naïs' (I, 8), or the undulating lines of 'Coulez, ondes' (III, 5) as Neptune and his bride are welcomed to their underwater abode. 

 

"The chief glories of the opera, however, are to be found among the many airs de ballet. Rameau's resourceful treatment of the dances in his operas has been demonstrated many times in recent years; yet few of his works surpass Naïs in the variety and sheer beauty of the ballet movements. From their youthful quality, one would scarcely guess that the composer was 66 years old when the opera was composed. Especially notable are the Sea divinities' breezy melodies with pizzicato accompaniments, contrasting effectively with the athletes' vigorous, sparse-textured music (including a huge chaconne of nearly 250 bars) in Act I. For the shepherds' music of Act II, Rameau takes us into that enchanted pastoral world which he made uniquely his own, the slower pieces saturated with a drowsy yet wistful languor, the faster ones sometimes tinged with regret; outstanding in this respect are the musette tendre and the gavotte legere et gracieuse. 

"The extent to which composer and librettist strove to achieve a close rapport between these dance movements and the action is revealed by the libretto. Cahusac favoured the danse en action, a sort of mime, rather than the more purely decorative danse simple; with few exceptions, he provided the choreographic outlines of each dance or group of dances by means of often quite elaborate stage directions. The best developed examples may be found in the ballets figures (collective ballets during which groups of dancers represented in stylized figures an action linked to the drama), the most spectacular of which occur during the Isthmian Games. The big chaconne in Act I, for example, is introduced by a 100-word stage direction giving details of the various athletic events — wrestling, boxing and racing — that take place, ending with the placing of a crown of honour on the head of the most distinguished athlete. 

 

"With such emphasis on the divertissements, it is not surprising that the music of 'Naïs' inhabits a world closer to opera-ballet than to tragedie lyrique. The work contains no serious emotional conflict, nor is there much attempt at characterisation. Inevitably, it remains a less powerful work than the great tragedies of the 1730s — 'Hippolyte', 'Castor', 'Dardanus'. Even so, the quality of most of the music raises it well above the level of a routine oeuvre de circonstance, and is more than enough to justify its modern revival. The present recording results from the English Bach Festival performances staged at the Opera Royal, Versailles, in June 1980, and at the Old Vic Theatre, London, the following month. The cuts made during Rameau's own lifetime have largely been observed, and some others that proved necessary have been retained." (Graham Sadler. From the liner notes.)

Performers: English Bach Festival Baroque Orchestra and Festival Singers, Nicholas McGegan, Linda Russell, Ian Caley, Ian Caddy, John Tomlinson

1.1. L'Ouverture

1.2. Prologue, Scène I: 'Attaquons Les Cieux'

1.3. Prologue, Scène II: 'Arrêtez, Monstres, Arrêtez'

1.4. Prologue, Scène III: 'Au Fond Des Gouffres Éternels'

1.5. Prologue: Symphonie

1.6. Prologue, Scène V: 'Ah ! Que La Paix Nous Promet De Douceurs'

1.7. Prologue, Scène V: Ballet Figuré. 'Brillez De Mille Traits Nouveaux'

1.8. Prologue, Scène V: 'Dans Une Heureuse Intelligence'

1.9. Acte I, Scène I: 'Que Ces Paisibles Bords'

1.10. Acte I, Scène II: 'Palémon, L’Amour Est Vengé'

1.11. Acte I, Scène III: 'Accourés À Ma Voix'

1.12. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Peut-on L’entendre'

1.13. Acte I, Scène V: 'Tendres Oiseaux Éveillez-vous'

1.14. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Avant Que Le Soleil Sorte'

1.15. Acte I, Scène VI: 'On Vient'

1.16. Acte I, Scène VII: 'Que Ce Jour Consacré...'

1.17. Acte I, Scène VII: Ballet Figuré. Chaconne

1.18. Acte I, Scène VIII: Ballet Figuré. 'Chantons Naïs...'

1.19. Acte I, Scène VIII: Ballet Figuré. Menuets I & II

1.20. Acte I, Scène IX: 'Règne, Triomphe Dieu Des Mers...'

2.1. Acte II, Scène I: 'Ah ! Ne Me Suivez Point'

2.2. Acte II, Scène II: 'Dois-je Le Croire?'

2.3. Acte II, Scène III: 'Ma Jalouse Tendresse...'

2.4. Acte II, Scène IV: 'Elle Rit Du Trait...'

2.5. Acte II, Scène V: 'Les Ennui De L’incertitude...'

2.6. Acte II, Scène VI: 'La Voix Des Plaisirs M’appelle'

2.7. Acte II, Scène VI: 'D'un Voile Épais Mes Yeux...'

2.8. Acte II, Scène VI: 'Au Berger Que J'adore'

2.9. Acte II, Scène VI: Ballet Figuré. 'Je Ne Scai...'

2.10. Acte II, Scène VI: Ballet Figuré. 'Nous Portons Les Plus Rudes Chaînes'

2.11. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Quel Oracle!'

2.12. Acte II, Scène VII: 'De Coupables Concerts...'

2.13. Acte III, Scène I: 'La Jeune Nimphe Que J'adore'

2.14. Acte III, Scène II: 'O Ciel!'

2.15. Acte III, Scène III: 'Allumez-vous Rapides Feux'

2.16. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Les Flots Les Ont Punis'/Écroulement De La Terre

2.17. Acte III, Scène V: 'Coulez Ondes, Mêlez Votre Plus Doux Murmure'

2.18. Acte III, Scène V: 'Cessez De Ravager La Terre'

2.19. Acte III, Scène V: Contredanse Générale

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