The Arts and The Hours from Les Boréades, Act IV, Sc. IV (Entrée de Polimnie) for Piano (as played by Víkingur Ólafsson)

Digital Sheet Music

By Jean-Philippe Rameau

Item Number: S0.897961

Les Boréades is a tragédie lyrique mise en musique, or a lyric tragedy put into music, a type of opera, in five acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764). It is the last of his five such works. The libretto, attributed to Louis de Cahusac (1706–1759), is loosely based on the Greek legend of Abaris the Hyperborean and includes Masonic elements; the Boréades are the descendants of Boréas.


'The Arts and The Hours' interlude from Rameau’s final opera, ‘Les Boréades’, written in 1763 when Rameau was 80. Ólafsson transcribed it for the modern piano because its colourful resonance allows for new and interesting textural possibilities in a piece that seems so ahead of its time: its rich harmonies of suspended 9ths and 11ths one could almost imagine Mahler writing in the late 19th century. In the original opera, based on a Greek legend, the interlude bears a somewhat lengthy title: “The Arrival of the Muses, Zephyrs, Seasons, Hours and the Arts.” As all these mythical beings summoned to the stage have something to do with the arts and with time’s passing, Ólafsson allowed himself to call my transcription simply ‘The Arts and the Hours’, with a nod to the Greek aphorism best known in its Latin version as “Ars longa, vita brevis”. Almost three centuries after his death, the legacy of his art is still growing, with works still being discovered, premiered and brought back from obscurity.

Watch pianist Víkingur Ólafsson (“Artist of the Year” at the Gramophone Awards 2019) performs Rameau's 'The Arts and the Hours'."There is a timeless quality to the music that we felt was matched by the spirit of the gorgeous house. It is about time’s passing and art - ‘Ars longa vita brevis’ - and as a counterpoint to the three verses in the music we have three different characters appearing in their respective homes, surrounded by objects they are passionate about and which they have gathered over a long period of time. It is about listening to your heart." - Víkingur Ólafsson

https://youtu.be/qTwqBVt2Clw

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