PROGRAM NOTES: Marin Marais
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PROGRAM NOTES: Marin Marais (1656-1728) established himself as a virtuoso of the viola da gamba at a young age, earning the opportunity to study gamba with Monsieur de Saint Colombe and composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully. Marais became one of the most prolific composers of bass viola da gamba repertoire. Marais approached composition differently than his predecessors. Rather than leaving ornamentation to the discretion of the performer, Marais created his own system of symbols depicting specific graces. His desire to have complete control over every gesture stemmed from his studies with Lully, a composer who was also notorious for adding precise ornamentation instructions. La Gamme en forme d’un petit Opera (1723) is one of several trio sonatas Marais composed for violin, viola da gamba, and harpsichord. Each instrumental part in this piece is equally challenging, creating a contrast of virtuosic lines throughout each voice. The title “a scale in the form of a petit opera” suggests that Marais’ goal through this composition was to depict the same drama and variation as a short opera. Beginning in the key of C Major, Marais travels through each step of the scale to create these various operatic scenes. Unlike Marais’ earlier works, this piece has very few instructions on where to ornament. Therefore, the biggest challenge as a performer is finding ways to embellish nuances in order to depict the vast amounts of character changes that take place in this enormous work. Because the piece was composed in the last year of his life, Marais probable assumed anyone performing it would have studied his earlier music and would therefore understand the style of ornamentation he demands. Marais is most known for his collection of suites for viola da gamba, which are divided into 5 books of over 550 songs. Similar to the standard baroque suite, Marais’ suites include dance movements. However, rather than having a set number of movements per suite, Marais created books of suites that relate to a “choose- your-own-adventure” novel. The irony lies in the fact that Marais was determined to control how evey ornament and gesture was placed in his music, yet left the overall structure of the performance entirely up to the performer. Suite in E minor from Pieces de Violes Book II exemplifies the complex detail with which Marais composed. The movements performed today are a small selection of the large work. All of Marais suites begin the same way, with a single Prelude. This slow beginning introduces the overall character of the suite. This expressive and slow movement is intended to introduce the overall character of the suite. The irregular phrase length and improvisatory gestures bear out typical French prelude characteristics, portraying the affect of this somber E minor suite. The light and airy Fantasie follows, gently segueing into standard dance suite movements: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Menuet. The conclusion of the sections I am playing today represents something unique to Marais. In his suites he generally incorporates character pieces into the setting, which ties much of the work together. In this suite, Marais wrote a Tombeau (a work commemorating the death of someone) to his teacher Monsieur de Saint Colombe. Marais meticulously planned and crated each gesture to represent the loss of his beloved teacher. From the sound of someone’s final heartbeat, to the weeping of someone mourning, Marais captures the essence of our emotions through this work. .