Composed c1729-30; 8 minutes

Throughout his career, Rameau wrote short harpsichord pieces which he grouped into suites. For many years after his death, performances of these attractive, often illustrative 50 or so keyboard works, were chiefly responsible for keeping his name alive, while, in the past half century, revivals of his 30 or so operas have re-established Rameau’s high place among composers of French opera. 

Rameau’s first keyboard collection, Premier livre de pièces de clavecin, appeared in 1706. A second volume was published in 1724. Then, five or six years later, Rameau introduced a third anthology, the Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin. Here, the various dance movements are grouped together into two Suites. The first is centered on the keys of A major/minor and concludes with the Gavotte and six doubles (variations). Canadian harpsichordist Kenneth Gilbert was the first to point out that the structure of Rameau’s theme and the textures and figuration of the first three variations closely resemble those of Handel’s Air with five doubles in his Third keyboard Suite. By exploring many aspects of keyboard technique, Rameau delivers an even greater vehicle for virtuosity.