Marais: Pieces De Viole Du Second Livre

Featuring

Markku Luolajan-Mikkola
Varpu Haavisto
Eero Palviainen
Elina Mustonen
Marin Marais

Did you know?

1/7

Performer Biography

Markku Luolajan-Mikkola, the viola da gamba player on this album, was a founder member of the Phantasm viol quartet, which won a Gramophone Award in 1997.

Historical Context

The French court moved to the newly finished palace in Versailles in 1682, where spectacle and opulence were used politically by Louis XIV to entertain and occupy his courtiers.

Composer Biography

Marin Marais established a reputation as the foremost violist of his generation, also serving as conductor at the opera, the Académie Royale de Musique.

Instruments

Marais's mentor, Sainte-Colombe, significantly contributed to the viola da gamba's development as a solo instrument by adding the seventh and lowest string.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Marais's 'Tombeau pour monsieur de Ste Colombe' is a powerful homage to his former mentor, with dramatic phrases that descend into mourning and melancholy, even disintegrating into quiet sobbing.

Composer Biography

Marin Marais, born in Paris in 1656, served at the court of the Sun King Louis XIV for 46 years, from 1679 until his retirement in 1725.

Compositional Technique

Marais's variations on 'La Folia', or 'Les Folies d'Espagne', demonstrate his genius for variety within restrictive forms, with 32 couplets built on the same harmonic progression.