Marin Marais
Encyclopedia
Marin Marais was a French
composer
and viol
player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully
, often conducting his opera
s, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe
for 6 months. He was hired as a musician in 1676 to the royal court of Versailles
. He did quite well as court musician, and in 1679 was appointed "ordinaire de la chambre du roy pour la viole", a title he kept until 1725.
He was a master of the basse de viol, and the leading French composer of music for the instrument. He wrote five books of 'Pièces de viole
' (1686-1725) for the instrument, generally suites with basso continuo. These were quite popular in the court, and for these he was remembered in later years as he who "founded and firmly established the empire of the viol" (Hubert Le Blanc
, 1740). His other works include a book of Pièces en trio (1692) and four opera
s (1693-1709), Alcyone
(1706) being noted for its tempest scene.
Titon du Tillet included Marais in Le Parnasse françois, making the following comments on two of his pieces, Le Labyrinthe, perhaps inspired by the labyrinth of Versailles
, and La Gamme:
As with Sainte-Colombe
, little of Marin Marais' personal life is known after he reached adulthood. Marin Marais married a Parisian, Catherine d'Amicourt, on September 21, 1676. They had 19 children together.
Facsimiles of all five books of Marais' Pièces de viole are published by Éditions J.M. Fuzeau. A complete critical edition of his instrumental works in seven volumes, edited by John Hsu
, is published by Broude Brothers.
Marais is credited with being one of the earliest composers of program music
. His work The Gallbladder Operation, for viola da gamba and harpsichord
, includes composer's annotations such as "The patient is bound with silken cords" and "He screameth."
Marin Marais, Les Folies d'Espagne, La reveuse, L'arabesque, Le badinage, Sonnerie de Ste-Genevieve du Mont; performers: Jordi Savall (Bass viola da gamba), Pierre Hantaï (Harpsichord), Rolf Lislevand (Theorbo); recording label: Alia Vox, 9821; 2002.
Marais unedited music volume 1
Marais unedited music Volume II
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
, often conducting his opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe
Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe
Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe was a French composer and violist.It is speculated by various scholars that Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe was of Lyonnais or Burgundian petty nobility; and also the selfsame 'Jean de Sainte-Colombe' noted as the father of 'Monsieur de Saint Colombe le fils.This assumption...
for 6 months. He was hired as a musician in 1676 to the royal court of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
. He did quite well as court musician, and in 1679 was appointed "ordinaire de la chambre du roy pour la viole", a title he kept until 1725.
He was a master of the basse de viol, and the leading French composer of music for the instrument. He wrote five books of 'Pièces de viole
Pieces de viole
Pièces de viole were collections of suites for bass viol and usually continuo written by several French Baroque composers, most notably Marin Marais, whose five Livres form a core of the viol repertoire....
' (1686-1725) for the instrument, generally suites with basso continuo. These were quite popular in the court, and for these he was remembered in later years as he who "founded and firmly established the empire of the viol" (Hubert Le Blanc
Hubert Le Blanc
Hubert Le Blanc was a French viol player, doctor of law and abbé. Strongly regretting that viol playing was falling out of fashion, he wrote the treatise Défense de la basse de viole contre les enterprises du violon et les prétentions du violoncelle, which was published in Amsterdam by Pierre...
, 1740). His other works include a book of Pièces en trio (1692) and four opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s (1693-1709), Alcyone
Alcyone (opera)
Alcyone is an opera by the French composer Marin Marais. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. The libretto, by Antoine Houdar de la Motte, is based on the Greek myth of Ceyx and Alcyone as recounted by Ovid in his Metamorphoses. The opera was first performed at...
(1706) being noted for its tempest scene.
Titon du Tillet included Marais in Le Parnasse françois, making the following comments on two of his pieces, Le Labyrinthe, perhaps inspired by the labyrinth of Versailles
The labyrinth of Versailles
The labyrinth of Versailles was a maze in the Gardens of Versailles with groups of fountains and sculptures depicting Aesop's fables. André Le Nôtre initially planned a maze of unadorned paths in 1665, but in 1669, Charles Perrault, advised Louis XIV to include thirty-nine fountains each...
, and La Gamme:
As with Sainte-Colombe
Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe
Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe was a French composer and violist.It is speculated by various scholars that Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe was of Lyonnais or Burgundian petty nobility; and also the selfsame 'Jean de Sainte-Colombe' noted as the father of 'Monsieur de Saint Colombe le fils.This assumption...
, little of Marin Marais' personal life is known after he reached adulthood. Marin Marais married a Parisian, Catherine d'Amicourt, on September 21, 1676. They had 19 children together.
Facsimiles of all five books of Marais' Pièces de viole are published by Éditions J.M. Fuzeau. A complete critical edition of his instrumental works in seven volumes, edited by John Hsu
John Hsu
John Hsu is a former Cornell University music professor. Hsu worked with Cornell for 50 years, from 1955 until his retirement in 2005.-Music career:...
, is published by Broude Brothers.
Marais is credited with being one of the earliest composers of program music
Program music
Program music or programme music is a type of art music that attempts to musically render an extra-musical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience in the form of program notes, inviting imaginative correlations with the music...
. His work The Gallbladder Operation, for viola da gamba and harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, includes composer's annotations such as "The patient is bound with silken cords" and "He screameth."
Instrumental music
- Pieces for 1 and 2 viols, Book I (20 August 1686, only solo viols, 1 March 1689 first published with associated basso continuo)
- Pieces en trio pour les flutes, violon, et dessus de viole (published on 20 December 1692, dedicated to Marie-Anne Roland)
- Pieces for 1 and 2 viols, Book II (1701), including 32 couplets on "Les folies d'Espagne"
- Pièces de violes, Book III (1711)
- Pieces for 1 and 3 viols, Book IV (1717; includes the famous Suitte d'un Goût ÉtrangerSuitte d'un Goût Étranger"Suitte d'un Goût Étranger" is a composition by Marin Marais.- Origins :The Suite in a Strange Style was included in Marin Marais's Livre IV of pieces for viol and continuo, and which also included the pieces for three viols, which Marais referred to in the Avertissement as 'a completely new...
.) - La gamme et autres morceaux de symphonie (1723, includes La Gamme en forme d'un petit Opéra, Sonate à la Maresienne, Sonnerie de Ste-Geneviève du Mont-de-ParisSonnerie de Ste-Geneviève du Mont-de-ParisSonnerie de Ste-Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris, "The Bells of St. Genevieve" in English, is a work by Marin Marais written in 1723 for viol, violin and harpsichord with basso continuo. It can be considered a passacaglia or a chaconne, with a repeating D, F, E bass line...
) - Pièces de violes, Book V (1725)
- 145 Pieces for viol (c. 1680), about 100 pieces were published in Books I - III
Operas
- Idylle dramatique of 1686 (music lost)
- Alcide (1693, in collaboration with Louis LullyLouis LullyLouis Lully was a French musician and the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Lully.Nearly disinherited by his father following dissolute behaviour and imprisonment, Louis did not have the brilliant career anticipated for him, not only because of his behaviour but also for lack of talent...
) - Ariane et Bacchus (1696)
- AlcyoneAlcyone (opera)Alcyone is an opera by the French composer Marin Marais. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. The libretto, by Antoine Houdar de la Motte, is based on the Greek myth of Ceyx and Alcyone as recounted by Ovid in his Metamorphoses. The opera was first performed at...
(premiered on 18 February 1706) - SéméléSéméléSémélé is an opera by Marin Marais first performed on April 9, 1709 by the Paris Opera at the Palais-Royal. The opera is in the form of a tragédie en musique with five acts and a prologue....
(1709) - Pantomime des pages (with Louis Lully, music lost)
Sacred works
- Te Deum (1701) for the recovery of the Dauphin (lost)
- Motet Domine salvum fac regem (1701) for the recovery of the Dauphin (lost)
Media
Discography
Marin Marais, Sonnerie de Ste-Genevieve du Mont, Suite en Do majeur (C major), Suite en Re majeur (D major); performers: N. Harnoncourt, A. Harnoncourt, L.Stastny, H. Tachezi; recording label: Harmonia Mundi, France, no. HMC 90414; 1973, 1987.Marin Marais, Les Folies d'Espagne, La reveuse, L'arabesque, Le badinage, Sonnerie de Ste-Genevieve du Mont; performers: Jordi Savall (Bass viola da gamba), Pierre Hantaï (Harpsichord), Rolf Lislevand (Theorbo); recording label: Alia Vox, 9821; 2002.
- http://www.classicalacarte.net/Fiches/9828.htm Marin Marais : Pièces de viole du Second Livre, 1701 (Le Parnasse de la Viole, vol. II) - Jordi Savall et al. - Alia Vox AV 9828
- http://www.classicalacarte.net/Fiches/9851.htm Marin Marais : Suitte d'un Goût Étranger, Pièces de viole du Livre IV, 1717 (Le Parnasse de la Viole, vol. III) - Jordi Savall et al. - Alia Vox AVSA 9851
- http://www.classicalacarte.net/Fiches/9872.htm Marin Marais ~ Pièces de viole des Cinq Livres ~ J.Savall, C. Coin, T. Koopman, H. Smith, A. Gallet ~ Alia Vox AVSA 9872
- Marin Marais Unedited Music from Scottish Manuscripts Volume 1
Marais unedited music volume 1
- Marin Marais Unedited Music from Scottish Manuscripts Volume 2
Marais unedited music Volume II