RosaSolis

While one should avoid using the term ‘orientalism’ (which refers to a 19th-century literary and artistic movement), the public of Louis XIV’s time, and subsequently that of the Enlightenment period, displayed a strong taste for the exotic and a hankering for unfamiliar climes.

Whether in the context of philosophers such as Montaigne or later Voltaire looking to distant races for evidence to support their doctrines and theories (in this light, Molière’s well-known opera-ballet Le Bourgeois can be seen as a brilliant parody of the political motivations of the time), or simply in terms of the search for picturesque decoration, there are numerous examples, especially in 18th-century music. In 1753, the Parisian public gave an enthusiastic reception to the premiere of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, demonstrating the popularity of these mysterious and exotic fragrances.

CORETTE, Michel
Comic concert n ° 3 "the journeys of the wealthy shepherd in the East Indies"
Comic concert "The Savages and the Fürstenberg"

RAMEAU, Jean-Philippe
1st concert in sextet: La Coulicam / La Livry / Le Vesinet

COUPERIN, François
Sonata "the Sultana"

RAMEAU, Jean-Philippe
6th concert in sextet: "The Egyptian"
Dance suite extracted from the Galantes Indies