Iskender Savasir asks:

>Would anyone have an idea as to why Rameau was particularly interested
>in the tambourine?  Are there any precursor to the said interest?  Or
>is it something we meet for the first time in Rameau?

I suspect it is the dance rather than the instrument.  I found the
following in Grove (via the Gramophone web site):

   "Tambourin An 18th-century French character piece, supposedly
   based on a Provencal folkdance accompanied by pipe and tabor.
   It is usually in a lively 2/4 metre, with a repeated bass note
   simulating a drum. There are examples in Rameau's operas and
   ballets."

Roger