Les Chants D'Orphee: The figure of Orpheus in the eighteenth-century French cantata

From at least the Renaissance era until today, composers have consistently been fascinated by the figure of Orpheus. Musical works on the Orpheus legend stretch from the late fifteenth through the twenty-first century, in small and large genres alike, and throughout the ages, composers have been identified as an Orpheus of their time. Considering the ubiquitous role of classical mythology in French culture of the early modern era, it is natural to expect Orpheus to be presented in his traditional guise in the repertory of the eighteenth-century French cantata, as an emblem of music's expressive and persuasive powers.;A close analysis of the French cantatas on the Orpheus story reveals a somewhat different situation. The eleven extant works include three currently known through both editions and recordings: an early example by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (c. 1683), and more typical works by Nicolas Clerambault (1710) and Jean-Philippe Rameau (1721). The other eight cantatas include settings by Philippe Courbois (1710), Giovanni Antonio Guido (1710--11), Charles Piroye (1717), Nicolas-Antoine Bergiron (1729), Francois de La Croix (by 1730), and one attributed to Nicolas Bernier (by 1731), as well as a parody cantata by Nicolas Racot de Grandval (1729) and a cantatille by Louis Lemaire (1743). (New editions of the unpublished works, apart from the Grandval parody, are included in the dissertation.);Though Orpheus's musical abilities are central to the dramatic content of all these works, they are divided as to whether they focus on his musical prowess and its effects, or on his actions, independent of his music. In many cantatas, Orpheus's status as a faithful lover and his human fallibility are as important as his mythical musical stature. Orpheus is seen as passionate, brave lover, who challenged death and fate in pursuit of his love. Whether through his emotional musical appeal to the gods of the Underworld for the return of his beloved wife or through the explanation of his impassioned backwards glance that cost him her return, this view of Orpheus as a lover particularly shaped his portrayals in the cantata repertoire.;Orpheus is not the only character to be presented in these works in different ways from his classical origins. As was the norm in the cantata genre, a narrator, unnecessary in operatic representations of the Orpheus story, is common to nearly all of these examples. The minor characters of the classical story are essentially absent, and the myth's two women, Eurydice and Persephone, are also relegated to either absent or silent roles, though Pluto remains a prominent character. The most notable shift in character focus, however, is on the figure of Amour, the god of love, who takes on a greater presence---a primary role, even---in the Orpheus cantatas, despite not being an active character in any work, and appearing only marginally in the original poetic sources of the myth.;In seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France, Amour, as the god who inspired mortal passion, was a particularly important figure. In several of the Orpheus cantatas, Amour is either credited or blamed for Orpheus's strong passions, and, in once case, it is to Amour whom he turns for help. The aspect of Orpheus that is brought to the fore by this emphasis on Amour is the guise of an impassioned mortal, fallible and susceptible; this trait was often the one chosen for the depth of artistic characterization, eclipsing the traditional principal perception of him as a musician. In many works, the moments that stand out musically are those in which Amour's involvement in the story is highlighted, rather than those that center on Orpheus; Orpheus is perceived here in relation to the character of Amour. Only a small number of the cantatas succeed at the more nuanced task of presenting the character of Orpheus in simultaneous guises, drawing on the centuries of tradition for whom Orpheus the musician was a perennial inspiration, as well as on the newer tradition beginning to take hold of Orpheus as an emblem of love's power, and interweaving these two to create a figure worthy of both the music and the passion of his legend. Through an examination of the texts and musical settings of all eleven cantatas, this study demonstrates how Orpheus, while still seen as a musician, is presented first and foremost as a lover---a role that remains underexplored in musical history.