Page:The Spirit of French Music.djvu/53



The worthy Deltour, in his day a university inspector, wrote an excellent book against the enemies of Racine. Another such book might be written against the enemies of Rameau, our musical Racine. He too found himself attacked at the height of his glory by a powerful cabal. But unlike that which was formed against Racine, this cabal was not fomented by jealous rivals. At its head were, not players of the lyre but philosophers of importance, dealers in general ideas, great lights of literature, and their names were Rousseau, Diderot, and Grimm. This Genevan, this German, and this Frenchman—as impressionable as a blank sheet of paper—, picked a quarrel with one whom Voltaire calls the greatest musician in France (he still deserves that name of posterity)—and this quarrel is one of the dominant, in fact one of the critical events in the history of our national music. I do not wish to rake up the details, but I should like to investigate its causes and give a general view of the interests and ideas which led the artist's detractors into this contest. For this purpose we must briefly call to mind the characteristic features of Rameau's career and work.