Marais - Suetes en Trio - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

While Marin Marais is best known for his works for viola da gamba, he also composed for the flute; Michael Lynn's recent rediscovery of manuscripts containing pieces for flute and basso continuo as well as duets caught the attention of Francois Lazarevitch and Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, who now present the first recordings of these works. InchThis virgin territory did not open up to me straight away, and only did so after an ongoing exploration that took me more than a year... What is fascinating is that these pieces by Marais are not like anything already known in the flute repertoire; the flute at this period, around 1700, was still a very recent instrumentInch. To accompany the flute, Francois Lazarevitch has called on his long-standing partners eric Bellocq (lute) and Lucile Boulanger (viola da gamba), who also plays Les Voix humaines, one of the great masterpieces written for her instrument, chiming with the previously heard version of Les Voix humaines composed for the flute!

Marais / Rasi - Jeux d'Harmonie [COMPACT DISCS] date 01/27/2017

That the viola da gamba music of Marin Marais represents a treasure trove of expressive and technical possibilities is just reason for Paolo Pandolfo's eagerly-awaited return to the composer's works with his new Marais 1689 recording for Glossa. Pandolfo's style of playing is apt for this music meticulousness and sensitivity, and a technical strength which allows him to demonstrate the instrument's versatility and gives him a sense of rare freedom. To follow a recent sequence of recordings which has seen him approach the music of Couperin and de Machy, but which also includes the Pièces de viole by Marais' teacher Sainte Colombe, Pandolfo now turns to the year 1689, when Marais (surrounded by constant arguments as to the true way of doing justice to the gamba) had published the continuo accompaniment for his earlier Pièces à une et à deux violes - this was quite a revolutionary move on the young composer's part. To reflect this transition effected by Marais - from the gamba being an instrument heard by itself to one operating within a chamber ensemble environment - Paolo Pandolfo has chosen from this First Book works for one or two gambas, with or without continuo support, in the form of a pair of Suites and various individual pieces, including the Tombeau de Mr Méliton and the rarely recorded set of variations Sujet & Diversitez.