Marin Marais, a master of the viol, dedicated an entire volume of his 1723 collection to the violin, an instrument typically associated with Italian music.
Compositional Technique
The Sonnerie de Sainte-Geneviève du Mont de Paris by Marin Marais uses an incessantly repeated three-note bass theme (F, E, D) to reproduce the sound of the bells of the abbey church of Sainte-Geneviève.
Compositional Technique
The 1723 collection by Marin Marais features a striking innovation in French music: a dialogue between two different instrumental ranges, a dessus and a ténor, given to a violin and a viol.
Composer Biography
Marin Marais, though an "Ordinaire de la musique de la Chambre du Roy," saw his presence in the royal chambers decrease after Louis XIV's death in 1715, leading him to move to the rue de l'Oursine where he enjoyed gardening.
Compositional Technique
Marin Marais's La Gamme is an almost uninterrupted stream of music lasting about forty minutes, which was disproportionately long for an instrumental composition of its era.
Interpretation
The ensemble, The Scale Knitters, chose their name based on a shared curiosity for music and knitting, seeing a similarity in creating infinite patterns from basic elements.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Marin Marais suggested that La Gamme, despite its considerable length, could be divided into halves, thirds, or quarters to prevent listener boredom.
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