Viole

Marin Marais published his last collection in 1725, eight years after the appearance of his Quatrième Livre de Pièces de Viole . He was no longer playing in the Chambre du Roi by that time and had moved to a house in the Faubourg Saint-Marceau where he cultivated plants and flowers in his garden. He continued, however, to give lessons to people who wanted to improve their viol playing. The Cinquième Livre de Pièces de Viole reflects this image of a peaceful life; today we regard it as the final testament of a musician who was looking back upon his past years as their undisputed master — and which he remains today.

Marin Marais possesses the grace, elegance and wit so appealing in the goût français of the eighteenth century. The character pieces of his last two books depict portraits, landscapes and little genre scenes in painterly fashion, and are an unsurpassed highpoint of the viol repertory.

Like many of his contemporaries, Marin Marais has paid the price of his proximity to some outstandingly brilliant musicians. Between Lully and Rameau we can still cite Charpentier, Delalande, Campra and François Couperin. But what about the others? The Destouches, Mouret and Marais pale beside the stars of a fertile era which was rocked by controversy. The school of harpsichordists and organists, who were no match for Lully’s vocal art, are still represented in the repertoire of present-day performers: D’Anglebert, Lebègue, Dandrieu, Grigny and Clérambault are still played on our instruments. But Marin Marais had the misfortune not only to compose operas in Lully’s domain, but also to devote the bulk of his art to an instrument which was being eclipsed by the advance of the violin family… namely, the VIOLA DA GAMBA or the BASS VIOL. And it is only recently that we have rediscovered the specific manner of playing this instrument as well as the composers who wrote for it.

Louis Caix d'Hervelois représente non seulement un des sommets de la viole francaise tardive du XVIIIe siècle en qualité et en quantité (pas moins de 5 livres publiés), mais aussi une heureuse synthèse de l'ange Marin Marais et du diable Antoine Forqueray le tout couronné par l'influence galante de son très proche ami Bodin de Boismortier. Même si l'anthologie de Jordi Savall est maintenant disponible en téléchargement (après avoir été longtemps introuvable), je vous conseille d'acheter cette anthologie de Jay Bernfeld (qui a joué dans Hesperion XX) et de son ensemble.

During their long study of the works of the composer Richard Mico (1590- 1661), the musicians of the Concerto di Viole ensemble developed charac- teristic images and associations that make each of the pavans and fantasies unique to them. Following the tradition of Mico’s contemporaries, they have therefore given the pieces new titles to inspire the listeners’ imagination. The Ensemble Con- certo di Viole was founded in Basle in 1989 and has since then been playing almost in the same line. The four permanent members Arno Jochem, Brian Franklin (2), Brigitte Gasser and Rebeka Ruso have studied at the schola Cantorum Basiliensis at different times and bring musical experiences with different ensembles.

Entre la publication du Deuxième Livre en 1701 et celle du Troisième Livre, dix années se sont écoulées et Marais s’est imposé comme compositeur de Tragédies lyriques. Mais, entre-temps quelques jeunes violistes, dont certains sont ses élèves, viennent de publier leurs premiers recueils de Pièces de Viole. Marais doit donc s’imposer comme étant toujours le maître du genre, exercice parfaitement réussi avec ce nouvel opus dans lequel il s’attache à proposer à son public des pièces plus faciles et d’autres plus exigeantes pour « contenter ceux qui sont plus avancés dans la viole ». Le style a également changé : aux suites traditionnelles les pièces de caractère apportent un complément de plus en plus important…

While the availability of programs devoted to the chamber music of François Couperin have been relatively constant throughout the CD era, fans of the composer will find much to enjoy in rehearing these familiar works on this new Channel Classics offering. What immediately impresses is the recording's sumptuous, remarkably illusionistic sound, with Mieneke van der Velden's viols (a Pardessus de viole, the highest instrument in the gamba family, was chosen for the Onzieme [11th] concert from Les Goûts-Réunies) ideally complementing the scale of Glen Wilson's harpsichord.