“Nothing that could touch the heart,” grumbled a critic after the premiere of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opera Hippolyte et Aricie. Rameau’s impassioned, harmonically bold music divided audiences accustomed to the more elegant, reserved style of Jean-Baptiste Lully. Rameau or Lully? In the 18th century, this question sparked a full-blown cultural battle. Today, both composers are recognised as the leading figures of the French Baroque. Emmanuelle Haïm, a widely-acclaimed baroque specialist, explores this fascinating contrast with ballet music and operatic excerpts; which composer will you prefer?