Voltaire and Rameau

Author(s): Madeleine Fields

Source: The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Summer, 1963), pp. 457-465

Published by: Wiley on behalf of American Society for Aesthetics

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 MADELEINE FIELDS

Voltaire and Rameau

IN 1776, Jean-Joseph Decroix-who was the theater and by the part they both
later to contribute to the Kehl edition- played as "modern geniuses," they seem,
wrote L'Ami des arts ou justification de however, to have repeatedly failed to under-
plusieurs hommes celebres. A poem by stand each other, since an innate antipathy
Saint-Lambert, Les Saisons, in which Vol- kept them apart as well as an unfortunate
taire was compared to Corneille and Racine, coincidence: Rameau put his new musical
and Rameau to Lully, prompted Decroix theories into practice on the stage, which
to give expression to his long-standing ad- was precisely the medium through which
miration for two great men: Rameau and Voltaire remained attached to traditional
Voltaire. After recalling their successes and form. The portrait made of Rameau by his
their triumphs as well as the libels and vili- illustrious nephew in Diderot's Le Neveu
fication they both had to suffer at the hands de Rameau and the recollection of Vol-
of their enemies, Decroix dwells on the taire's fits of temper do not augur well for
physical resemblance of the two men (op. a collaboration between the two men. A
cit., p. 98): short-lived enthusiasm soon gave way to
Their physical make-up made even more obvious sulking, scorn, sarcasm, and violent anger,
the likeness of their spiritual qualities: a tall
and brought to this unfortunate association
stature, an extreme thinness, quick reactions, only a qualified measure of success.
strong features revealing the firmness of their Rameau was born in Dijon in 1683, two
character, eagle eyes, burning with the fire of years before J. S. Bach and eleven years be-
genius, set them apart from the average man. fore Voltaire. A precocious child, he showed
Their resemblance was indeed proverbial, a natural bent for music and was sent to
as illustrated by Abbot Charles-Philippe study in Italy around 1700. We find him
in Montpellier as a violinist in
Campion de Tarsan's pen drawing in the asuccessively Milanese
edition of Rameau's complete works. The ensemble, in Avignon, Cler-
mont, Paris, Dijon, then in Clermont again,
drawing depicts the two artists facing each as an
other, one the reflection of the other, with where, organist and seemingly as ir-
their pointed chins, their hollow stomachs responsible as his nephew, he broke all his
and their spindly legs. The continuing contracts. After writing his Traite de l'Har-
fame of Voltaire and the semi-obscurity into monie in 1722, he decided to go to Paris.
which Rameau has fallen tend to make one Legend relates how he succeeded in secur-
forget that the two men were not only mont ing a release from his contract at the Cler-
Cathedral by giving a dreadful per-
contemporaries, but also collaborators.
Drawn together by their common love for formance on the grand organ, a feat which
required great talent; indeed, only a man
MADELEINEFIELDS is assistant professor of French at of genius could have deliberately com-
Queens College, New York and the author of two pounded such atrocious combinations of
ONVOL- stops. When he arrived in Paris in 1723, he
articles on Voltaire in Besterman's STUDIES
TAIRE(1961-2). was already forty years old. He played in

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 458
several churches and his work as an organ-
ist brought him in contact with the most
famous organist of the time, Louis Mar-
chand. Shortly after his arrival in the
capital, he wrote his Nouveau systeme de
musique theorique and composed the music
for some short plays that a compatriot from
Dijon, Piron, had written for the Italian
Theater. At that time he met Fuzelier, who
was to be the librettist of Les Indes galantes.
He married in 1726, at the age of forty-
three, and endeavored to settle down and
face his new responsibilities. However, he
found competition extremely keen. Mar-
chand, C16rambault, Gaspard le Roux,
Mondonville, Campra, Rebel, Duni, Cou-
perin, and Daquin were his rivals, and
Daquin won over him in a contest for the
position of organist at the Church of St.
Paul. Fortunately, Rameau enjoyed the pro-
tection and help of the Fermier-G6n6ral
Le Riche de La Poupelini~re, who brought
together in his lavish parties the elegant
society and well-known artists of the time.
It was at the home of this rich administra-
tor, in about 1728 or 1729, that Rameau
met Voltaire, who was at the time just back
from exile.
In 1730, Sansone, an opera by Romagnesi
and Riccoboni, translated into French for
the Italian Theater of Paris, suggested to
Voltaire and Rameau the idea of writing
in collaboration an opera based on a Bibli-
cal episode. In a letter to his friend Thi-
eriot, dated December 1, 1731, Voltaire
declared that he was whole-heartedly at the
disposal of Orpheus-Rameau (Besterman,
915). The endeavor was rash and the out-
look none too promising. Religious themes
had met much opposition because operatic
form required that men and women singers
be mixed. Moreau, music master at Saint
Cyr, had been refused authorization to per-
form the incidental music he had composed
for Racine's tragedies Esther and Athalie.
More recently, a religious opera, Jephte,
by Monteclair and Abbot Pellegrin had
been banned by the Archbishop of Paris,
Cardinal de Vintimille. Nevertheless,
Rameau and Voltaire set to work. Soon,
however, each one started to undertake
other projects. Voltaire produced in rapid
succession Brutus, Eriphyle, Zaire, Le
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MADELEINE FIELDS
Temple du gout, and Adelaide. He ex-
perienced many difficulties concerning the
Factum of Jore on the subject of Les Lettres
philosophiques, he worked on his Jules
Cesar and drew up the first outline for his
comedy L'Enfant prodigue. Rameau, on his
part, made contact with Abbot Pellegrin,
the librettist of the ill-fated Jephte, and pro-
duced, in 1733, his first opera, Hippolyte et
Aricie which, in spite of the violent opposi-
tion it aroused, established Rameau as a
leading figure of the French theater. After
this great success, Rameau, remembering
Voltaire, urged him in letters which are
now lost, to continue with their planned
undertaking. Voltaire answered with sur-
prising caution (Best., 667):
Your repeated letters are so pressing and you
seem so convinced that it is to your interest to
produce your opera this coming winter that, for
your sake, I shall have to overcome all my re-
luctance.
This attitude is surprising from Voltaire,
who seldom showed such reticence, doubt,
or even discouragement. Madame du
Chatelet, in whom he confided all his plans,
did not appreciate the up-and-coming com-
poser. In a letter to Jacques de Sade, dated
December 1733, she even claimed to rate
Destouches "one hundred times" higher
than Rameau (Best., 665). Moreover, Vol-
taire feared that the theme which his
enemies condemned as "blasphemous"
might bring to Rameau new difficulties. But
above all, Voltaire was not sure of his own
talent regarding this particular type of writ-
ing (Best., 667):
I feel that I have no talent whatsoever for lyrics.
It is a special kind of harmony that I fear I have
not been able to grasp. Most of all, I am in-
capable of making an acceptable prologue, and I
would sooner write the canto of an epic poem.
With his customary generosity, he re-
nounced all royalties in favor of Rameau
whom he considered to be "still quite poorly
retributed." In April 1734, he seemed to
take heart again and, in jest, pledged "to
marry Rameau and to give him many chil-
dren" (Best., 699). In September of the
same year, he informed his friend d'Argental
that he had started to work again (Best.,
764).
Voltaire and Rameau
I had completely abandoned my hero of the ass
jaw. But Rameau rants around, Rameau claims
that I am cutting his throat, that I treat him
like a Philistine... Well, I am going to imitate
that Pellegrin fellow and set up the Lord on the
stage of the Opera, and we shall have beautiful
psalms by way of ariettes.... I am on my way
to being a devout opera concocter.
Again the project dragged on. Rameau
did set to work, but with another librettist,
Fuzelier, and on August 23, 1735, he pre-
sented Les Indes galantes. Far from being
dismayed, Voltaire sided immediately with
Rameau in whom he intuitively sensed
musical genius. Voltaire, as we shall see,
was no connoisseur himself, and his musical
vocabulary is pitifully restricted, but he
nevertheless had complete confidence in
Rameau (Best., 881):
It has been said that, in the Indies, Rameau's
opera might have a chance. I believe that an
abundance of semiquavers may shock the Lullists,
but, in the long run, Rameau's style will not fail
to become the prevailing style of the nation, as
people become more educated. The ear learns
little by little. Lulli gave us a sense of hearing
which we did not possess, but musicians such
as Rameau will keep on improving it.
More than ever, Voltaire wanted to bring
his Samson to a flawless perfection and to
carry on a good fight side-by-side with Scheibe, who
Rameau. Rameau's enemies were indeed
his own enemies, with Desfontaines leading
the way by launching an attack in his Ob-
servations sur les ecrits modernes (1435-
1743, II, p. 238):
Yesterday, I went to the opera. There is no need
to speak of the libretto. The music is a per-
petual witchery leaving nothing to nature....
Nothing could be as complicated and bumpy. It
is like a trail which jolts you without respite.
The composer spares you the trouble of buying
Abbot Saint Pierre's vibrating chair. What an ex-
cellent fidgets giver is that opera, whose tunes
are fit to arouse a paralytic's nervesl How dif-
ferent this violent jolting is from the gentle rock-
that
ing Campra, Destouches, Monteclair, Mouret,
etc. know how to createl It seems that unintelligi- performance of Dardanus, and in spite of
bility, gibberish, neologism are invading music Jean-Baptiste Rousseau's scathing criticism,
as well as speech. That's too much! I am torn, d'Alembert discovered in
grated on, pulled apart by this diabolical sonata
of Les Indes Galantes, and my head remains all
shaken up from it.
In spite of his inner conviction that tive had become a real medium fit to con-
Rameau's music was bound to compel vey the intensity of a dramatic situation
recognition some day, Voltaire wondered cit., p. 120):
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459
about Samson's fate and gave vent to his
anxiety in a letter to his friend Thieriot
(Best., 897):
... If I felt that it was still possible to put
Samson on the stage, I would work at it further,
but one must expect that the text will be as un-
wonted in its own way as is the music of our
friend.
Nevertheless, Voltaire kept on working,
and, from Cirey through Thieriot, he sent
word of his progress to Rameau, who had
now settled in the de La Poupeliniere
mansion. He submitted for the composer's
approval the cuts and alterations that he
planned to make in Samson's groundwork,
but naively allowed himself to give advice
to Rameau concerning the recitative (Best.,
940):
I want Samson to be in the new style: only one
scene of recitative in each act.... Are you not
weary of the uniform melody, of the perpetual
eus which end our feminine syllables with the
monotony of an antiphonary?
Recitative, which Alessandro Scarlatti
called the framework of drama, gave rise at
that time to a real quarrel. The French
recitative, held in contempt outside of
France by everyone except Telemann and
composed the incidental music
for the German version of Polyeucte and
of Mithridate, had in France its followers
such as Grimarest in his Traite du Recitatif.
Its antagonists included Jean-Jacques Rous-
seau in his Reflexions sur l'Eglogue, and
among its conciliators were d'Alembert in
his essay De la liberte de la musique, and
Marmontel in his study of this essay, Ex-
amen des reflexions de M. d'Alembert sur
la liberte de la musique. The latter felt that
the recitative part was to bring relaxation
from the arias and defined it as a sort of
declamation modeled after natural speech
but daring to be more modulated. After the
Rameau's recita-
tive far more than "relaxation from the
arias." Decroix, in his Ami des Arts, quoted
Marmontel who explained how the recita-
(op.
 460
It seems that if an excellent actor had to de-
claim all this passage of the Dardanus scene, he
would render it exactly as it has been set to
music. It is impossible to carry the sincerity of the
feeling and the resemblance of song with speech
any further than the composer has done.
Decroix, in his account of Rameau's
career, dwelt a great deal on the history of
the French recitative, and in contrasting it
with the Italian recitative, he pointed out
Rameau's enormous contribution in this
field (op. cit., p. 179):
[Rameau] thought with Lully that the recitative
must be considered as the principal and basic
part, and all the rest as ornaments. It is indeed
in the recitative that almost the entire interest of
the play must reside.
Voltaire had not the slightest notion of
the problems of Rameau, who, living in a
society particularly hostile to the poet, ill-
advised by Thieriot (who played one side
against the other), and solicited by rival
librettists, was also harassed by Voltaire
who claimed "brilliant entertainment,
many arias, few recitatives" (Best., 940).
Little did Voltaire suspect that this Sam-
son on which he was working so diligently
had been plagiarized for Les Indes galantes
and that the chaconne of the Entree was
taken from Samson. The following month,
Voltaire urged the composer "to avoid the
languor of recitative." Rameau remained
silent and Voltaire wondered as to the fate
of the opera which, he feared, would meet
with the same difficulties as had his Jules
Cesar regarding censorship. Suspicion grew
in his mind that Rameau might be waver-
ing (Best., 966):
It is imperative that Rameau should back me up
and should not be confused by all the asses speak-
ing to him.
He adds rather piteously and quite inop-
portunely:
M. Rameau may take my word that his success
will be great if he adds to his lovely music a
few arias in mitigated Italian style.
Finally, he feels that he has been betrayed
(Best., 998):
Rameau has married Moncrif. Am I relegated
to the old seraglio? Has Samson been abandoned?
No! Let him not abandon itl
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MADELEINE FIELDS
Rameau had not "married" Moncrif, but
rather "gentil" Bernard, the librettist of
Castor et Pollux, which was to have its
first performance the following year. Soon
after Rameau's defection, the Royal Censor-
ship gave the coup de grdce to Samson, put-
ting an end to a collaboration which had
dragged on for six long years. Decroix
blames the failure of the project on the
"Cabale" who had used an unfailing
method, which was "to accuse the authors
of blasphemy" (op. cit., p. 94). A satire on
the opera was, however, authorized to be
performed in the Italian Theater where the
victor over the Philistines was seen cutting
capers with Harlequin. Thirty years later,
Voltaire mentions this adventure merrily
and without a trace of bitterness in a letter
to Chabanon (Best., 13766):
... What! you are still thinking of that p ... of
Samson and of that p ... of Dalilah?...Do you
know that Rameau had composed delightful music
for that Samson? There were awesome passages,
and others most graceful....
Voltaire was not inclined to retrospection
and the thought does not seem ever to have
occurred to him that a real incompatibility,
such as sometimes exists between artists,
might have stood between Rameau and
himself. Moreover, in his candor, he never
imagined that the composer of Hippolyte
et Aricie was likely to have very definite
theories about music. Also, he never in-
quired, even superficially, into the role of
recitative in operatic music. This oversight
was detrimental to him on two accounts:
first, he irritated Rameau with his blunder-
ing advice; then he failed to recognize what
an incomparable opportunity the medium
of recitative was offering his texts. Instead
of drowning his words in music, recitative
would have emphasized the vigor and rhy-
thm of his poetry in a manner similar to
that of the declamation in Dardanus, so
highly praised by d'Alembert.
For Voltaire, the "asses" jaws braying
around La Poupeliniere remained the only
reason for Samson's failure. Rameau, for his
part, left no record of his opinion on the
matter. However, a new project of collabora-
tion suggested by Voltaire, but coldly ig-
nored by Rameau, seems to confirm the
Voltaire and Rameau
hypothesis that Samson's failure could be
attributed to the incompatibility of the
two men rather than to the rigor of the
Censorship and of the Cabale. It is inter-
esting to note that, ten years later, a new
Samson was composed by G. F. Handel.
Four years after the failure of Samson,
Voltaire put the finishing touch to Pandora,
an opera in five acts which was later re-
named Promethee. This time Voltaire en-
trusted the negotiations with Rameau to
Berger instead of Thieriot, who had proved
to be unreliable. Berger must have con-
veyed to Voltaire the regrets of Rameau,
who seems to have been too busy at the
time, as Voltaire candidly insisted, not wish-
ing to interpret the musician's excuses as
a personal refusal. In a letter to Berger,
Voltaire pressed him to persuade Rameau
to reconsider working with him. The tone
of the letter shows that Voltaire failed once
more to recognize in Rameau's excuses a
disguised refusal of further collaboration
(Best., 2121):
I do not wish in the least, Sir, that Rameau should
do his work quickly; on the contrary, my desire is
that he should take all necessary time to produce
a piece of work which would crown his fame.
I suspect that he must have shown my poem at M.
de La Poupelinibre's and that comments have
been disadvantageous. I am well aware that I
have never had the honor of finding favor with
M. de La Poupelinibre, and that this gentleman's
views on poetry are entirely different from my
own....
Once more the hostile faction centered
around La Poupeliniere was successful in
dissuading Rameau from collaborating with
Voltaire. The blame should, however, rest
also on Rameau himself, who behaved in-
discreetly and seemed unable to keep to
himself the first drafts of manuscripts sub-
mitted to him. Voltaire, sensing the futility
of further requests, entrusted his Promethee
to the unknown Royer, a "second rate
genius," who had not been given "the lion's
share of the celestial booty" (Best., 2812).
Nevertheless, the fact that after four years
Rameau had not produced anything new
since his refusal, confirmed Voltaire's sus-
picions concerning Rameau's real motives.
This is indicated in a letter to his friend
d'Argental (Best., 2756):
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461
Pacify, I beg you, Blunderbuss (Thieriot). I never
deserved his offensive against me. He is the one
who kept Rameau from setting my Promethee to
music. He told Abbot de Voisenon that it would
ever be worthless and Voisenon reported it to
Rameau....
But a royal order was soon to compel
Rameau to collaborate with Voltaire. The
Duke de Richelieu instructed the poet and
the musician to compose an opera for the
entertainment at the Dauphin's wedding.
No Cabals nor arguments as to the recitative
parts could hinder the work which must
be ready within a record time of eight
months. Voltaire fell into a panic, bewailed
his lot, wrung his hands, and finally be-
came ill. The play was to be a comedy-
ballet, La Princesse de Navarre, and Vol-
taire expressed his fears in a letter to the
Duke de Richelieu (Best., 2780):
You have given me a frightful task [Best.,
1784].
... The difficulties are almost overpowering... I
would rather write two tragedies than a play in
which two contrary styles must harmonize with
each other.
From Cirey, he submitted each scene of
his progressing play to his friends, Count
and Countess d'Argental, who went over
the work with him, criticized it and made
suggestions. President H6nault, who passed
through Cirey, wrote that he saw Voltaire
and Emilie at work: "One of them writes
verses, the other traces triangles...." (Best.,
2789). Voltaire took his assignment to heart
with such earnestness that he was exhaust-
ing himself; he scarcely ate or slept. He
grew so weak that Emilie wrote to the
d'Argentals, begging them "to wait until
later before making further criticism"
(Best.,
2791), because Voltaire was too worn out to
receive them. But after two months of stren-
uous work, Voltaire took heart again,
philosophically reflecting that "this con-
coction, good or bad, is not worse than
La Princesse d'Elide and fulfills the
require-
ments for a fit courtier" (Best.,
2793).
Voltaire had indeed no illusions concerning
the value of this particular piece of work,
for he felt that (Best., 2765):
One succeeds only in the subjects that one has
selected according to one's taste.... Moliere and
all those who worked under orders have failed to
 462
achieve success. I had higher hopes for my Pro-
methee because I had composed that opera for
myself.
Unfortunately, the difficulties presented
by a subject given through a Royal order
which decreed "a mixture of what is tender
and pleasant with what is spectacular and
what is comedy," the political aspect of the
play in which France and Spain were to
be seen united, and the lack of time were
only some of the many problems facing
Voltaire. However, the main obstacle was
Rameau. Madame du Chatelet, Henault,
d'Argental, the Duke de Richelieu himself,
all had to intervene to compel Rameau to
restrict himself to his assignment. Letters
crossed each other and became more and
more vehement:
Concerning the divertissements, he [Voltaire] is
still working on them and begs you to take back
from Rameau the one that was given to him...
because the President [Henault] told him that
Rameau was dragging it through the mud and
showing it to everybody... I take it that Rameau
has gone mad (Best., 2788).
But what do you think of Rameau who has be-
come a wit and a critic and who has set out to
correct Voltaire? That insane person has for ad-
visers all the riff-raff in poetry. He shows around
texts which will be pulled apart, torn to pieces,
criticized.... (Best., 2789)
[Rameau] had the bright idea of having his little
poetry dabblers be the critics of the text you sent
him to set to music. I take the liberty of sending
you two letters in an attempt to prevent in him
the itching which might set him going again....
(Best., 2796)
Partly amused, partly provoked, Voltaire
had completed his work and was quite de-
termined not to make any further changes.
Refusing flatly to carry on by mail dis-
cussions with the roi des quintes, he made
fun of the latter's absurd requests: "He in-
structs me to set into quatrains all I wrote
in eight verses, and in eight verses all that
is in four. He is mad...." (Best., 2812).
Lamenting in every letter his Promethee's
fate, Voltaire fired off at Rameau: "... It is
imperative that M. de Richelieu should be
informed by Madame de Tencin that poor
Rameau has become insane" (Best., 2803).
And, later on: "But do try to have Madame
de Tencin write to the Duke de Richelieu
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MADELEINE FIELDS
that Rameau ought to be bled white and
thrown into the bouillon pot" (Best., 2814).
But time was growing short and in Octo-
ber Rameau was not ready and wanted to
make last minute changes in a divertisse-
ment. Exasperated, Voltaire lashed out
(Best., 2819):
Is there anything to do over the confounded
Princesse de Navarre? What is the matter with
Rameau? What does he want? I beg you to in-
timate clearly to Rameau that I shall not make a
single change.... One has to come to a decision,
otherwise nothing would ever be finished in this
world.
The work was performed at last on Feb-
ruary 25, and Voltaire expressed his relief
in a letter to d'Argental (Best., 2859): "My
work is acceptably good; it was favorably re-
ceived although it was not flattering. The
King is grateful to me for it."
The Mercure de France agreed with Vol-
taire's views and expressed the opinion that
the play was "rather similar to La Princesse
d'Elide ... a second rate play if resulting
effect only is considered, but which may
present more difficulties than a play of
more considerable proportions" (M. F. II
[fevrier, 1745], 88-109). Rameau's name did
not appear in the review. Thanks to La
Princesse de Navarre, the year 1745 brought
to Voltaire a sudden fame which left him
puzzled:
Never has my Henri IV, nor my Zaire, nor my
American Alzire brought me a single glance from
the King. I had a thousand enemies and very little
glory. Honors and wealth are now showered upon
me because of a slap-stick comedy.
The King, in fact, granted Voltaire the com-
mission of Royal Historiographer, the title
of gentilhomme ordinaire, and a yearly pen-
sion of two thousand pounds. Voltaire's
poem, La Bataille de Fontenoy, written to
Louis XV's glory, was printed at the Royal
Press in Versailles, and the author at long
last was admitted as a member of the French
Academy. Voltaire had reached the pinnacle
of glory. Rameau was granted a small pen-
sion.
During the winter following the Battle of
Fontenoy, entertainments, shows, and plays
were particularly numerous at Versailles.
Again, the Duke de Richelieu called upon
Voltaire and Rameau
Voltaire and Rameau, and they composed
within record time an opera-ballet in five
acts, Le Temple de la gloire, which was pre-
sented on November 27, 1745, nine months
after La Princesse de Navarre.
It seems that the project was carried out
with less difficulties than the preceding one,
considering that very few allusions are
found to this particular work in Voltaire's
correspondence. The poet had promised the
Duke de Richelieu to be "Rameau's slave"
and "to make allowances for the whims of
his genius." On August 17, Voltaire wrote
his friend d'Argenson that "the play for the
King is completed" (Best., 2918). Rameau,
for his part, composed at an unbelievable
speed: after La Princesse de Navarre in Feb-
ruary 1745, he produced in succession,
Platee in March, Les Fetes de Polymnie in
October, and Le Temple de la gloire in
November. The quality of his work does
not seem to have been affected by the
quantity of his production, for it is in Le
Temple de la gloire that appears the fa-
mous air "Profound abyss of the Tenares"
which brought tears of admiration to the
eyes of Rameau's nephew.
In a letter to his niece, Madame Denis,
published for the first time in 1957, Vol-
taire whose chief complaint had been Ra-
meau's ill temper, suddenly gave vent to
contempt for the man as an artist. Perhaps
this was prompted by jealousy and spite
considering the success of Rameau's Platee
ou Junon jalouse, whose libretto had been
written by Jacques Autreau and Le Valois
d'Orville. It is difficult to understand why
this cruel comedy in which Platee, a ludi-
crous and ugly nymph, is tricked into a
parody of marriage with a handsome young
god, was performed on the occasion of the
Dauphin's marriage to Maria-Theresa of
Spain, who was a very plain woman. How-
ever, the splendor of the music makes one
forget the unfortunate choice of the theme
of the play. The critics were indeed unani-
mous in praising the originality, the taste,
the vivacity, and the naturalness of the
music. The Mercure wrote that "the con-
noisseurs regard it as M. Rameau's mas-
terpiece" (M. F. [avril, 1745], 87). Grimm
called it "sublime work" (Lettre sur Om-
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463
phale, 1752). Jean-Jacques Rousseau said it
was "divine" and that M. Rameau's mas-
terpiece was the most excellent play ever
presented on the French stage (Lettre a M.
Grimm au sujet des remarques de la lettre
sur Omphale, 1752). The "philosophers"
were impressed by the naturalness of the
composition and d'Alembert added that
Platee laid the groundwork for the success
of l'opera buffa and, in 1752, for that of La
Serva Padrona (De la liberte de la musique,
op. cit., p. 388).
It is interesting to compare the admiring
estimations above with the report Voltaire
gave to his niece after attending a perform-
ance of Platee (Voltaire, Lettres d'amour de
Voltaire a sa niece, lettre 14, Th. Bester-
man, 1957):
This Thursday, April 1745 in Versailles.
How are you, my dear child? Why were you not
at the frogs' ballet yesterday? You missed nothing
but a large crowd and a very bad piece of work;
it is the utmost in indecency, boredom and im-
pertinence. I speak thus only to you. I am ac-
customed to tell you things that I tell no one else.
Rameau's misfortune is to be a blockhead advised
by self-styled connoisseurs. This is the reason why
he has never written and will never write a good
opera. All his works are of uneven quality because
genius cannot always successfully adapt itself to
bad lyrics, but this piece of work is not uneven
and its sum total gives the most detestable show
I have ever seen and heard.
Thus, after reproving the indiscretion,
perfidy, and cowardice of Rameau's char-
acter, Voltaire questioned his integrity as
an artist. Henceforth, further collaboration
between the two men became impossible,
although Voltaire and Rameau remained
on polite terms throughout the philoso-
pher's stay at the French court. In an invita-
tion Voltaire asked his niece to a musical
afternoon at which Rameau was "to sing
his act with his cracked voice" (op. cit.,
letter 68).
In the midst of all this activity, the Duke
de Richelieu, organizer of the Royal enter-
tainments, decided to include once more in
the winter program La Princesse de Navarre
which had been heard so far only twice.
Voltaire prepared a new libretto for Ra-
meau's music called Les Fetes de Ramire.
As both Rameau and Voltaire were too
 464
busy to undertake the new adaptation, the
Duke de Richelieu called upon a newcomer,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who was both a
writer and composer. Voltaire gave Rous-
seau a free hand to correct the manuscript,
which he apologetically qualified as being
"very poor" and full of errors and "blun-
ders" (Best., 3007). Rameau, under the in-
fluence of Madame de La Poupeliniere,
who despised Rousseau and accused him of
writing funeral music, ignored the project
and offered neither advice nor encourage-
ment to Rousseau. Unfortunately, Vol-
taire's career as a courtier of Louis XV was
waning. Indeed, the Mercure, in its review
of Le Temple de la gloire, deplored the un-
seemliness of the libretto which "had Prince
Trajan warbling like a bird" (M. F. [no-
vembre, 1745], 238 and [mai, 1746], 144).
Moreover, Voltaire was said to have taken
the liberty of casually asking the King, who
was leaving, "Is Trajan satisfied?" The fa-
mous episode at the gambling table where
Voltaire and Emilie accused members of the
royal family of cheating abruptly brought
Voltaire's career at Court to an end. This is
why Rousseau was alone at the performance
of Les Fetes de Ramire in the Theatre des
Petites Ecuries:
Of the three authors, I alone was attending.
Voltairewas absent,and Rameau was not there, or
was hiding.... In the booklets given to the spec-
tators in which the author's names appear, Vol-
taire only was mentioned, and Rameau preferred
to have his name omitted rather than risk finding
it next to mine.... I have lost the credit that
my work deserved,the fee which was my due, my
time, and my trouble. Furthermore,there is my
grief, my sickness,and the money I had to spend.
... (Confessions,II, pp. 180-185)
The violent hostility expressed by Rousseau
in La Nouvelle Heloise and in Lettre sur
la musique franraise towards Rameau and
French operatic music in general may be
traced back to this unfortunate experience.
Voltaire's long exile from Paris had
started. Except for his stay of a few months
after Emilie du Chatelet's death, he was not
to return to Paris until the last few days of
his life. Never again was he tempted to
write lyrics for operas or comedy-ballets. As
for Rameau, he was to compose twenty
more lyrical tragedies, pastorales, or ballet
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MADELEINE FIELDS
acts in collaboration with Cahussac, Ber-
nard, and Marmontel. In spite of the fact
that Voltaire had generously given up to
him all returns on their works and had ob-
tained for his benefit two government pen-
sions, Rameau never wrote again to his for-
mer collaborator. When Rameau died in
1764, Voltaire had settled in Ferney. He was
engaged in the composition of his Diction-
naire philosophique and involved in the
Calas trial and his fight against fanaticism.
Voltaire's correspondence at that time paid
no homage to the departed composer and
did not even mention his name.
One can easily assume that Rameau, who
in 1730 was still an obscure newcomer in
Paris, sought Voltaire's collaboration pri-
marily because the latter's reputation was
already solidly established. It is not sur-
prising that this collaboration between two
individuals who were so set in their ways,
because of the age of the one and the suc-
cess of the other, should have proved to be
such a strenuous undertaking, and should
have ended in near failure after much tur-
moil and confusion. On the other hand, it
is astonishing that Voltaire, whose musical
vocabulary was limited to six words-opera,
recitative, air, bass, fifth, and semi-quaver-
should have undertaken the venture with
such enthusiasm. Not once during his trip
to England did he mention Handel or the
Water Music which he had heard played on
the Thames River. From Sans-Souci, he
never mentioned Bach, Quantz, or Teleman
in his letters. His feeling for music must have
inspired the remark of Pococurante, Can-
dide's rich host: "This noise may amuse a
person for half an hour; but if it lasts any
longer, it tires everybody although no one
dares admit it."
Yet, this same Voltaire lavished advice on
Rameau, and in spite of the latter's un-
pleasant semi-quavers and unfaithfulness,
gave him openly his full support. Raymond
Naves's thesis, according to which Voltaire
was a music lover especially fond of the
recitative, is difficult to uphold, for the let-
ters quoted in the chapter La musique et
l'opera of his book are dated 1767 and
1777. It is rather pathetic to imagine the
old man, who was seventy-three in 1767 and
Voltaire and Rameau
eighty-three in 1777, singing recitatives and
priding himself on "holding the auditors in
rapt attention" (Best., 13692).
In the same vein, a brief article by Julien
Tiersot, published in 1936 in the Revue
Musicale (Sept.-Oct., 1936) concerning a
fragment of a letter from Voltaire to d'Ar-
gental, fails to raise doubts as to Voltaire's
constant and blind admiration for Rameau.
In spite of such flagrant contradictions, it
is certain that Voltaire's interest in Ra-
meau, the amused forbearance he showed
for Rameau's faults and the intuitive con-
fidence he had in the composer's talent, in-
dicate in him much more than the worldly
whim of a courtier seeking celebrity. Con-
sidering that he did not like either the com-
pany or the personality of Rameau and had
for his music nothing but a passing fancy,
may we suggest that, beyond the man and
beyond the musician, he had recognized
the artist, the scholar, the brother-in-arms?
Hostile to a certain tradition, eager for
innovation, seeking progress, Voltaire spon-
taneously favored new expression. The
fable Les Bijoux indiscrets shows that Vol-
taire had to choose Rameau in preference
to Lully, the favorite of the conservative
group:
Dunces and old fogeys were all in favor of Ut-mi-
ut-sol, the young and virtuosi were for Ut-re-mi-
fa-sol-la-si-ut-ut-ut, and the people with taste,
young and old, hold them both in high opinion.
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465
To the attraction Voltaire felt for newness
in any form, he added a touch of national
pride: the poet of La Henriade, of Adelaide
du Guesclin and of La Princesse de Navarre
delighted in calling Rameau the "French
Orpheus." Moreover, in 1740, when Vol-
taire offered to Rameau with so much in-
sistence the libretto of Pandora so dear to
his heart, Rameau had already read his
Generation harmonique at the Academie
des Sciences at the very same time that Vol-
taire was presenting his Elements de New-
ton before the same Academy. Abbot
Terrasson described as follows Rameau's
endeavor to give an objective certainty-
exterior to oneself and subjected to mathe-
matical law-to an intuitive knowledge in
which audio would replace the Cartesian
cogito (Decroix, op. cit., p. 182, note 80):
"Rameau's music illustrates a new beauty
always rejected by some musicians. It is the
Newtonianism in music which has to suffer
the same contradictions."
Thus, in their century, Rameau and Vol-
taire experienced a feeling of kinship as
artists who were lifting their art to the level
of a science and who, having in common a
"philosophical view" of the future, deserved
as early as 1740 the title of "would-be phi-
losophers" (James Doolittle, PMLA, June
1959).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Girdlestone, Cuthbert: Jean-Philippe Rameau (Cas-
sell and Co., 1957). Naves, Raymond: Le gott de
Voltaire (Paris: Garnier, 1938).