Although principally known as a dramatic composer, Jean-Philippe Rameau also made a substantial contribution to the French keyboard repertoire, an important Baroque genre that reached its highest point in the harpsichord works of François Couperin. Like most of the output of the French clavecinistes, Rameau's harpsichord works were gathered into collections generally arranged in books according to key. There are three such major collections in the instance of Rameau; the Premier livre de pièces de clavecin (1706), the Pièces de clavecin (1724), and the present anthology, published around 1729. The Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin includes 15 pieces. Like all French keyboard works, they are notable for such characteristic devices as the broken chord (stile brisé) taken over by French keyboard composers from the influential school of early seventeenth century lutenists. Also highly characteristic are the lavishly decorated melodic lines, based on a code of ornamentation illustrated in didactic prefaces by composers such as d'Anglebert and Couperin. As in all three of Rameau's collections, the pieces are divided between the binary (two-part) dance movements of the Baroque suite and the character pieces unique to French instrumental music. The present collection is headed by three dance movements: an Allemande, a Courante, and a Sarabande (worthy of special mention as one of Rameau's noblest conceptions), and also includes a Gavotte et doubles (variations) and a pair of Minuets. The descriptive character or genre pieces sometimes have intriguing titles, the original meaning of which cannot always be determined. The Nouvelles suites includes ten such pieces, among them one of the composer's most famous keyboard works, L'enharmonique. It takes it name from the striking enharmonic modulation just after the start of the second half, reminding listeners that the composer was also an outstanding theorist whose Traite d'harmonie (Treatise on Harmony) was one of the most influential pedagogical publications of the eighteenth century. Another popular piece here is La poule, which graphically imitates the clucking of a hen in the most ingenious fashion. The contemporary vogue for the exotic is not ignored, either, as the inclusion of pieces entitled Les sauvages and L'égyptienne clearly illustrates. The first seven pieces of the anthology are grouped around A major and A minor, while the remainder are centered on G major and G minor. A number of Rameau's keyboard works were later orchestrated and reused in his operas, an example being the Sarabande, which later found its way into the third act of Zaroastra (1749).

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Although principally known as a dramatic composer, Jean-Philippe Rameau also made a substantial contribution to the French keyboard repertoire, an important Baroque genre that reached its highest point in the harpsichord works of François Couperin. Like most of the output of the French clavecinistes, Rameau's harpsichord works were gathered into collections generally arranged in books according to key. There are three such major collections in the instance of Rameau; the Premier livre de pièces de clavecin (1706), the Pièces de clavecin (1724), and the present anthology, published around 1729. The Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin includes 15 pieces. Like all French keyboard works, they are notable for such characteristic devices as the broken chord (stile brisé) taken over by French keyboard composers from the influential school of early seventeenth century lutenists. Also highly characteristic are the lavishly decorated melodic lines, based on a code of ornamentation illustrated in didactic prefaces by composers such as d'Anglebert and Couperin. As in all three of Rameau's collections, the pieces are divided between the binary (two-part) dance movements of the Baroque suite and the character pieces unique to French instrumental music. The present collection is headed by three dance movements: an Allemande, a Courante, and a Sarabande (worthy of special mention as one of Rameau's noblest conceptions), and also includes a Gavotte et doubles (variations) and a pair of Minuets. The descriptive character or genre pieces sometimes have intriguing titles, the original meaning of which cannot always be determined. The Nouvelles suites includes ten such pieces, among them one of the composer's most famous keyboard works, L'enharmonique. It takes it name from the striking enharmonic modulation just after the start of the second half, reminding listeners that the composer was also an outstanding theorist whose Traite d'harmonie (Treatise on Harmony) was one of the most influential pedagogical publications of the eighteenth century. Another popular piece here is La poule, which graphically imitates the clucking of a hen in the most ingenious fashion. The contemporary vogue for the exotic is not ignored, either, as the inclusion of pieces entitled Les sauvages and L'égyptienne clearly illustrates. The first seven pieces of the anthology are grouped around A major and A minor, while the remainder are centered on G major and G minor. A number of Rameau's keyboard works were later orchestrated and reused in his operas, an example being the Sarabande, which later found its way into the third act of Zaroastra (1749).

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