Rousseau: Le Devin du village

Since its first publication in 1753, Rousseau's landmark comic intermède Le devin du village has not been available in a modern critical edition. The original engraved score is in a reduced format, but the discovery of some early manuscript parts in the Département de la Musique at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris has made it possible to reconstruct a reliably authentic performing score. This comprehensive edition includes historical background on Rousseau and the music, along with an appendix of six revised airs which Rousseau completed in the last year of his life. Rousseau's complete French text is given with a contemporaneous English translation and adaptation by Dr. Charles Burney, entitled The Cunning Man. A supplement to the edition, with an introduction by Kerry Grant, is a facsimile of Burney's own copy of his piano-vocal arrangement (London, 1766), complete with his handwritten recitatives inserted on separate manuscript pages. A modern keyboard-vocal score and instrumental parts are also available.