Protégé of Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe and Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marin Marais was one of the masters of the viola da gamba in late 17th century France, and his unsurpassed skills brought him to the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV. This 2016 Glossa release of Marais' Pièces à une et à deux violes et basse continue (Pieces for one and two viols with basso continuo) features exceptional performances by virtuoso gambists Paolo Pandolfo and Amélie Chemin, with theorbo player and guitarist Thomas Boysen and harpsichordist Markus H ...
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Protégé of Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe and Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marin Marais was one of the masters of the viola da gamba in late 17th century France, and his unsurpassed skills brought him to the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV. This 2016 Glossa release of Marais' Pièces à une et à deux violes et basse continue (Pieces for one and two viols with basso continuo) features exceptional performances by virtuoso gambists Paolo Pandolfo and Amélie Chemin, with theorbo player and guitarist Thomas Boysen and harpsichordist Markus Hünninger providing the continuo parts. The collection is a combination of Marais' 1685 book of the pieces with his 1689 supplement, which provided the continuo, so the album's title is really a reflection of Marais' success with the completed publication, a high point of his career. A common problem with recordings of Marais' music is the viola da gamba's sustained tones, which can cause harmonies to blur unpleasantly in overly resonant acoustics, though that isn't a problem with...
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