This study investigates the often-overlooked integration of music and dance within the dramatic arts of 17th-century France. John S. Powell, a scholar of French baroque music and theatre, examines how musical practices evolved alongside the development of comedy, tragedy, and pastoral drama. By analyzing the period from the arrival of early repertory companies in Paris to the founding of the Comédie-Française, the author argues that music was a fundamental, rather than peripheral, component of the era's theatrical identity.

Experts recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the intersection of musicology and theatre history in the French baroque period. Scholars frequently cite the book for its meticulous archival research and its success in filling a significant gap in the study of 17th-century performance practices.