Jean-Baptiste-Ferry Rebel "the elder", better known simply as Jean-Ferry, was a pioneer and genius of descriptive instrumental music. Lully took this child prodigy on as a pupil when he was only eight years old. A composer who anticipated the sonata in France, a great admirer of Corelli, and a talented violinist, harpsichordist and conductor, his success led him to the most prominent positions at court and at the opera. He remains famous today for the harmonic boldness of his two ballets, Les Caractères de la danse and Les Éléments. Less well-known, but equally interesting, are these three short pieces, the first ballet-pantomimes of the Paris Opera, teeming with orchestral effects, reminiscent of the contemporary paintings of Jean-Antoine Watteau. Written for the orchestra of the Académie royale de musique they are best suited, given their virtuosity, to accomplished ensembles.