The Cinquième Livre includes autobiographical pieces, such as the 'Tombeau pour Marais le Cadet' (Tomb for Marais the Younger) and 'Le Tableau de l'opération de la Taille' (The Picture of the Bladder Stone Operation), which describes an operation Marais underwent.
Interpretation
The performers aimed to free themselves from the strict codes of French Baroque musical notation to reveal the clarity of Marais's melodic lines.
Composition History
Marin Marais, the composer, moved to a house in the rue de l'Oursine shortly before publishing his fifth and final book of music for viol, where he cultivated a garden.
Composer Biography
Marais maintained a separation between his private life and professional activity, renting a room in the rue du Batoir to give viol lessons.
Compositional Technique
The piece 'Le Tact' (The Touch) in this collection is an innovative experiment in sound, designed to be played by striking the viol strings with the left-hand fingers without a bow.
Recording & Production
This album concludes a seven-year project to record all of Marin Marais's 'Pièces de Viole', spanning about twenty discs.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Marais, a good pedagogue, aimed to satisfy musicians of all levels, starting his suites with easy melodic pieces and including more difficult ones marked with a cartouche.
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