AUDIO BOOK

Letter on French music  (1753)

Examination of two principles put forward by M. Rameau (1755)

In this writing, Rousseau shows himself to be a very committed and very biased partisan of Italian music against French music then personified by Jean-Philippe Rameau, against whom he was opposed by an old personal resentment. In this "demonstration" of the superiority of Italian music, the basis of which would be the much more appropriate character of the Italian language for a pleasant musical expression, Rousseau combs the skilful harmonies of Rameau and goes so far as to maintain that the French language can serve as a support for quality works. *