Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764)
Opera omnia
Edited by the Societé Jean-Philippe Rameau | General Editor: Sylvie Bouissou
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764) is one of the towering figures of the baroque period. An internationally renowned theorist and scientist, he left behind a large body of music, parts of which have until now never been published.
The first attempt to publish Rameau’s works was made in the 18th century by Jacques-Joseph-Marie Decroix, an ardent admirer who collected many of the composer’s manuscripts. This was followed in the early 20th century by a complete edition prepared under the auspices of Camille Saint-Saëns and published by Durand. This edition however remained incomplete.
Sylvie Bouissou has been systematically expanding the Rameau Opera omnia at CNRS since 1991. She founded an international scholarly committee as well as the Société Jean-Philippe Rameau, which received the support of the Fondation France télécom in 1992. Since 1993 the Rameau Opera omnia has been receiving financial support from Musica Gallica (Ministère français de la Culture, Fondation Francis et Mica Salabert). The initial volumes were issued by Billaudot (see the list of separate volumes). Since 2003 the edition has been published by the Société Jean-Philippe Rameau, with worldwide distribution entrusted to Bärenreiter.
For the first time the edition Opera omnia Rameau (OOR) is publishing all of Rameau’s musical works paying equal attention to scholarly guidelines and the demands of performers. It catalogues, explores and discusses every known musical, literary and iconographic source. All the stage works will be published with vocal scores (on sale) and performance material (on hire).
- Detailed scholarly historic introduction by the editor (French/English)
- Complete critical edition of the sung texts and music
- Critical commentaries giving details of the sources and variant readings
- Appendices devoted to sketches, first versions and rejected versions
Publication Schedule
The complete edition is divided into six series:
Series I: Instrumental Music
Series II: Sacred Vocal Music
Series III: Secular Vocal Music
Series IV: Stage Music
Series V: Fragments, Incomplete Works and Works of Doubtful Authenticity
Series VI: Research Material (not part of the subscription)
Subscription Guidelines
The following purchasing options are available for this edition:
- Purchase of individual volumes at retail sales prices
- Part subscription to series IV (a price advantage of approx. 15 %)
- Full subscription (a price advantage of approx. 20 %) (without series VI)
For further information please ask your customer service.