Recording
- La PouleMarcelle Meyer, piano · 29–30 October 1953, Salle Adyar, Paris3:06
In Rameau’s La Poule, played by Marcelle Meyer on the piano, a hen’s clucking is developed into repeated chords and running passages. The clucking figure begins on a single G.
Listening notes · joins
- Opening, repeated Gs
The right hand repeats G, then turns upwards. Rameau printed “co co co co co” beneath the opening notes. The left hand takes up the repeated-note figure, and the short flourish rises higher.
- Marcelle Meyer recording, Paris, 1953
In October 1953 Marcelle Meyer recorded Rameau’s three harpsichord books on the piano at the Salle Adyar in Paris. La Poule belongs to the third book, which also contains dances, Les Sauvages and L’Enharmonique.
- Repeated notes and chords
The repeated-note figure appears in single notes and in chords. In some passages one line repeats a note alone; elsewhere both hands repeat chords beneath a held upper note. Rameau marks alternations of fort and doux, loud and soft, across the piece.
- Opening of the second half
After a cadence in D minor, the second half begins with the clucking figure on D. The same quick upward flick starts another passage of repeated notes and runs, which moves back towards G minor.
- Final bars in G minor
Near the end, the hands exchange repeated notes while quick runs pass across them. The final G minor chord is held over a descending bass run, which ends on a low G.
Joins
- D minor cadence and the double bar
The first half closes in D minor, with the bass running down beneath the held chord. After the double bar the right hand plays alone, repeating D and adding the upward flick heard earlier. The left hand re-enters as the figure rises.
- Repeated notes and runs close in G minor
The piano passes repeated notes between the high and low parts, and quick runs cross them. The final phrase cadences in G minor. The upper chord is held while the bass descends to G.