1653: The Dancing King
1653, Paris. A teenage Louis XIV appears on stage as the rising sun in Le Ballet de la Nuit. The future 'Sun King' sparks the rise of ballet as a professional artform.
1653, Paris. A marathon court spectacle is drawing to a close. As dawn breaks, a teenage boy dressed in gold steps onto the stage to dance the role of the rising sun: Louis XIV, King of France. In that moment, the 'Sun King' is born, and ballet becomes a powerful tool of royal authority.
From courtly spectacle to codified artform, this programme explores how Louis XIV uses music, dance and theatre to project absolute power. With the help of composer Jean-Baptiste Lully and a circle of artists at Versailles, ballet is transformed from aristocratic pastime into a professional discipline.
Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new 麻豆社 Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. For the next eight programmes, historian Suzannah Lipscomb is in the chair, as together they travel from the late sixteenth to the early eighteenth century.
Producer: Zerlina Vulliamy
Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford
Story Consultant: Kate Leys
Series Editor for 麻豆社 Audio: Emma Harding
Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the 麻豆社 National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan.
MUSIC DETAILS
Anonymous: Ballet Royal de la Nuit 鈥� Le Roy repr茅sentant le Soleil levant
Ensemble Correspondances
S茅bastien Dauc茅 (conductor)
Anonymous: Ballet Royal de la Nuit 鈥� Ouverture
Ensemble Correspondances
S茅bastien Dauc茅 (conductor)
Jean-Baptiste Lully: Overture to Atys
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie (conductor)
Christoph Willibald Gluck: Dance of the Blessed Spirits
Jean-Baptiste Lully: Phaeton 鈥� Chaconne
Les Talens Lyriques
Christophe Rousset (conductor)
Jean-Baptiste Lully: Le Bourgeois gentilhomme 鈥� Marche pour la c茅r茅monie des Turcs
Les Concerts des Nations
Jordi Savall (conductor)
Jean-Baptiste Lully: Te Deum (excerpt)
Les 脡pop茅es
Les Pages & Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles
Stephane Fuget (conductor)
L茅o Delibes: Copp茅lia 鈥� Mazurka
Orchestra of the Paris Opera
Jean-Baptiste Mari (conductor)
脡lisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: C茅phale et Procris 鈥� Rondeau, Loure, Gigue
Bellot Ensemble
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Les Indes galantes 鈥� Danse des sauvages
Les Musiciens du Louvre
Marc Minkowski (conductor)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 66a 鈥� Waltz
麻豆社 National Orchestra of Wales
Xian Zhang (conductor)
To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask 麻豆社 Sounds to play Key Changes."
Last on
Music Played
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Anonymous
Ballet Royal de la Nuit Overture
Ensemble: Ensemble Correspondances. Director: S茅bastien Dauc茅.- HARMONIA MUNDI.
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Jean鈥怋aptiste Lully
Atys Overture
Ensemble: Les Arts Florissants. Conductor: William Christie.- HARMONIA MUNDI.
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Christoph Willibald Gluck
Dance of the Blessed Spirits
Orchestra: 麻豆社 National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor: Kerem Hasan. -
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Jean鈥怋aptiste Lully
Chaconne from Phaeton
Ensemble: Les Talens Lyriques. Director: Christophe Rousset.- APARTE.
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Jean鈥怋aptiste Lully
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme: Marche pour la ceremonie des turcs
Ensemble: Les Concert des Nations. Director: Jordi Savall.- ALIA VOX.
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Jean鈥怋aptiste Lully
Te Deum (I. Te Deum)
Ensemble: Les 脡pop茅es. Choir: Les Pages et les Chantres. Director: St茅phane Fuget.- Ch芒teau de Versailles Spectacles.
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L茅o Delibes
Coppelia, Act 1, No.3, Mazurka
Orchestra: National Theater Opera Orchestra of Paris. Conductor: Jean-Baptiste Mari.- WARNER.
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脡lisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre
Cephale et Procris: Rondeau - Loure - Gigue
Ensemble: Bellot Ensemble. -
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Jean鈥怭hilippe Rameau
Les Indes Galantes: Danse des sauvages
Ensemble: Les Musiciens du Louvre. Conductor: Marc Minkowski.- ARCHIV.
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Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 66a (Waltz)
Orchestra: 麻豆社 National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor: Xian Zhang.
Broadcast
- Sat 13 Jun 2026 13:00麻豆社 Radio 3