La Reveuse, Benjamin Perrot & Florence Bolton – Marin Marais: Pièces de viole (2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Marin Marais, “chamber viola player to the King”, and a talented composer is the author of this rich work full of contrasts, which forms the bridge, in the French viola tradition, between the generation of pioneers (with Saint-Colombe at their head) and the generation of the last French viola players (such as Forqueray or Caix d’Hervelois). This selection gives us an insight into the art of Marais – who was recognised in his own time as a technically gifted and brilliant musician – by way of his two Livres de viole, published in 1717 and 1725 respectively. It was in this period, which was both especially artistically fruitful but also unstable and subject to all sorts of political, economic and social turmoil, that Marais brought out his two last works. This album brings together a good number of strikingly original pieces, in particular from the Suite d’un goût étranger, a real introduction to the world of tonalities. The viola responds very differently to different tones: each tonality has its own very particular effect in terms of musical rhetoric: the Paraza in D minor sounds opulent and full, the Badinage in F sharp minor fragile and uncertain. Special mention should also go to a rare and stunning piece called Le Tact, which requires a curious sort of left-handed pizzicato without any help from the right (which he calls “tact”, a forerunner of very modern techniques). This is where Marais shows his particular genius, because he loves the instrument’s sensitive, vulnerable instrument, which he explores with great poetry. Founded by theorbist Benjamin Perrot and the viola player Florence Bolton, La Rêveuse (taking its name from the final piece of this album) is an ensemble which specialises in the artistic heritage of the 17th and 18th Centuries, periods which are rich in experiences and artistic inventions of all kinds.

Tracklist:
Marin Marais (1656-1728)
01. Pièces de viole, Troisième livre: I. Prélude
02. Pièces de viole, Cinquième livre, Suite No. 6: XIV. Le Jeu du Volant
03. Pièces De Viole, Cinquième Livre, Suite No. 6: XVII. Le Petit Badinage
04. Pièces de viole, Cinquième livre, Suite No. 6: XVI. Le Rondeau Villeneuve
05. Pièces de viole, Cinquième livre, Suite No. 6: IX. Rondeau Le Troilleur
François Couperiin (1668-1733)
06. Second livre de pièces de clavecin, Ordre VI: V. Les Barricades Mystérieuse
Marin Marais
07. Pièces à une et à trois violes, Quatrième livre: I. Prélude
08. Pièces de viole, Cinquième livre, Suite No. 7: V. Gavotte Singulière
09. Pièces à une et à trois violes, Quatrième livre “Suite d’un Goût Etranger”: IX. Rondeau Le Bijou
10. Pièces à une et à trois violes, Quatrième livre “Suite d’un Goût Etranger”: VII. Fête Champêtre
11. Pièces à une et à trois violes, Quatrième livre, Suite No. 6: XI. La Biscayenne
12. Pièces À Une Et À Trois Violes, Quatrième Livre “Suite D’Un Goût Etranger”: Xxxiii. Le Badinage
13. Pièces de viole, Cinquième livre: II. La Paraza
14. Pièces de viole, Cinquième livre: III. Le Tact
François Couperiin
15. Troisième livre de pièces de clavecin, Ordre XV: II. Le Dodo ou l’Amour au Berceau
16. Pièces de viole, Cinquième livre, Suite No. 3: X. Rondeau Le Doucereux
17. Pièces à une et à trois violes, Quatrième livre, Suite No.3: VII. La Provençale
18. Pièces À Une Et À Trois Violes, Quatrième Livre “Suite D’Un Goût Etranger”: Xxviii. La Rêveuse