Why go
Lully and Couperin evoke the royal court, Rameau brings the harpsichord and opera into focus, and Bizet's Carmen shows a later stage tradition. Those points of comparison make a concert or opera programme in France easier to place in its historical setting.
The full story
Louis XIV's court employed composers and performers, making music part of its ceremonial life. Jean-Baptiste Lully worked in that setting, as did François Couperin, Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Marin Marais. In the following century, Jean-Philippe Rameau became a leading figure in French opera and wrote for the harpsichord. By the nineteenth century, opera and orchestral music offered composers a different scale. Hector Berlioz, Georges Bizet, Charles Gounod, Camille Saint-Saëns and Jules Massenet belong to that broad period, though their works sound far from identical. Bizet's Carmen, Gounod's Faust and Massenet's Manon give a listener concrete starting points in opera; Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals and Danse macabre offer another route through concert music. Gabriel Fauré's Requiem and Pavane show yet another tone. If a programme names one of these works, its date and genre can help you hear the shift from court entertainment to public stage and concert hall.