Rebel -〈Les Elemens〉1737 / 1. Le Cahos (Reinhard Goebel / Musica Antiqua Köln)

Jean‑Féry Rebel (1666–1747) was a prominent French composer and court musician. His 1737 choreographic symphony Les Élémens, a ten‑movement tone poem depicting the formation of earth's elements from cosmic chaos, was his most ambitious work. The suite opens with the movement Le Cahos ("Chaos"), a striking opening that uses a dissonant chord of all seven notes of the D‑minor scale before introducing the four elements—air, water, fire, and earth—through distinct melodic themes. Subsequent movements, such as Loure, Chaconne, and Ramage, are based on dance forms and incorporate birdsongs, while the final movements—Sicilienne, Rondeau, and Caprice—are not tied to a specific element. Rebel's work was praised for its originality and harmonic daring, earning comparisons to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.