Marin Marais Pieces de viole - recommendations

[Muniini K. Mulera]

The music of Marin Marais [1656-1728] brings me a unique aural joy and beautiful emotions that I cannot describe with words. It was through his music that I discovered the Viole da Gamba, an instrument with which I have fallen in love the more I have listened to it under the terrific bow of Jodi Savall.

Besides the Savall recordings [CD, SACD] on ALIAVOX, which I have and enjoy very much, the only other performance I have of Marais is by Sophie Watillon [La Reveuse, & autres pieces de viole] on Alpha 036, which is equally outstanding. I would appreciate recommendations of other performances of Marais' work that are both sonically and musically satisfying.

BTW, anyone not familiar with Marais, my recommended starter would be his Book IV of Pieces de Viole by Jodi Savall on ALIAVOX AVSA 9851.

Regards,

Muniini

[Lance]

Greetings, Muniini! Oddly, I don't have much insofar as Marias' Pieces de viole are concerned, but I have heard some. On the other hand, I have other things of Marais that I have deeply enjoyed. The ONE disc I am hankering to find is on the Teknon label [11250], entitled "French Music of the 18th Century," which contains two of Marais' pieces wherein the great Baroque cello master, Anner Bylsma, plays one piece using a cello piccolo entitled "La gamme et autres morceaux de simphonie: Sonata in C major "à la mariesienne." The other Marais piece on the disc is the famous "La gamme et autres morceaux de simphonie: La Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont à Paris." Collaborating artists include Bob van Asperen, Pieter Wispelwey, and others. I'm sure believe I have some of the Pieces de viole on LP, however, but it's been a long time since I've dug out those LPs. You may have prompted me to check out Marais again!

The music of Marin Marais [1656-1728] brings me a unique aural joy and beautiful emotions that I cannot describe with words. It was through his music that I discovered the Viole da Gamba, an instrument with which I have fallen in love the more I have listened to it under the terrific bow of Jodi Savall.

Besides the Savall recordings [CD, SACD] on ALIAVOX, which I have and enjoy very much, the only other performance I have of Marais is by Sophie Watillon [La Reveuse, & autres pieces de viole] on Alpha 036, which is equally outstanding. I would appreciate recommendations of other performances of Marais' work that are both sonically and musically satisfying.

BTW, anyone not familiar with Marais, my recommended starter would be his Book IV of Pieces de Viole by Jodi Savall on ALIAVOX AVSA 9851.

Regards,

Muniini

[Chalkperson]

Don't restrict yourself to Marais, Sainte Colombe was certainly his equal...

MARIN MARAIS

Paulo Pandolfo - Le Labyrinth et Autres Histoires - Glossa...
Les Voix Humaines - Pièces à Trois Violes - ATMA
Purcell Quartet - La Folia - Helios

JEAN DE SAINT COLOMBE

Poalo Pandolfo - Monsieur de Sainte Colombe - Pièces de viole - Glossa
Les Voix Humaines - Complete Works for 2 Viols Vol, 1-4 - ATMA
Jordi Savaal - Tous Les Matins Du Monde - Alia Vox

Sainte-Colombe: Pièces de Viole - Pandolfo and Boysen

Just once in a while—a long while—a disc will come along to make one curse the all-too-easy use of superlatives to which our fatuous age is devoted. We curse their misuse because it deprives us of the ability to describe that which is truly exemplary, rare cases where the use of a word such as “great” is not just an idle, meaningless throwaway. This is just such a recording, and if, for reasons I’ll come to later, overall it falls minimally short of the ultimate accolade, I can say without hesitation that Paolo Pandolfo is an extraordinary master who has here produced some of the greatest viol-playing I’ve ever heard. Why? Quite simply because he combines innate musicianship with a flawless technique that allows him to explore a quite extraordinary range of sonority and nuance that are in my experience unequalled among his fellow gambists. Throughout the 28 tracks on this CD, there is not one moment of ugliness, not the faintest suspicion of less than perfect intonation, while the sheer lyrical beauty Pandolfo draws from his instrument is at times breathtaking. But, for the moment, enough of panegyrics. Regular readers will know well enough that this writer is no hero worshipper of artists, rather one who views them as a conduit through which to attempt to seek the truth about music.

The truth about the mysterious Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe himself is, to say the least, somewhat elusive. Despite considerable scholarly activity, no biographical facts have yet emerged about a figure who was celebrated by both contemporary and successor as not only the greatest gambist of his day, but also the founder of an advanced school of performers that found its greatest exponent in Sainte-Colombe’s pupil, Marin Marais. But Monsieur was controversial as well as celebrated, unwittingly finding himself at the center of an angry polemical argument in which he took no part. At the heart of this debate was a central issue. Was the gamba primarily a lyrical instrument whose performers should above all seek closely to emulate the human voice, or was it rather an instrument that should follow in the footsteps of the lute and theorbo and express itself through harmony?

This divergence of opinion is brilliantly examined, using contemporary sources, in the long booklet essay by Pierre Jaquier, which shows how much Sainte-Colombe was, above all, revered for his ability to play in a manner that could draw comparison with the finest singers. Much of his music reflects this love of cantabile, a piece such as the second Sarabande from the G-Major pieces (the suites are, of course, Pandolfo’s own choice arranged by key), which has all the melodic distinction and simplicity of an air by Michel Lambert. This, interestingly, is one of the few pieces in which the manuscript (the Panmure MS) includes a part for continuo bass, but in an ancillary note, Pandolfo argues that many of the other pieces imply the use of continuo, which has been added in a number of cases where he feels the gamba part includes insufficient harmonic information. This may be so, and in some instances works well, especially given Thomas Boysen’s fine theorbo-playing. Where I do part company with the performers is in the occasional employment of the Baroque guitar to supply the continuo, as in the Chaconne that concludes the Suite in C. Here, and in several other instances, its tangy, percussive character sounds anachronistic beside the gamba, exuberant though the piece may be.

Exuberance is not a quality that those familiar only with the secretive, withdrawn, and hermit-like Sainte-Colombe portrayed in the film Tous les matins du monde will associate with the composer, but, as Pandolfo justly observes, that is an image contradicted by much of the music. True, we do from time to time meet a wistful, introverted composer, as in the D-Minor Sarabande, where the gambist draws us into an intimate web of sound, while at the same time demanding admiration for some perfectly placed and executed trills. But there is, too, nobility in the shape of the G-Major Allemande, fragile lightness and courtly elegance (the G-Major Minuet), and the evocation of a distant folk dance heard in an idealized, Poussinesque landscape (the Minuet in D), here cleverly succeeded by the downright bucolic in “Vielle,” with its drone bass.

As already made abundantly clear, these are performances that call for superlatives. The disc is not only a showcase for Pandolfo’s magical, supremely rewarding virtuosity, but, much more important, one that casts fresh and indispensable new light on one of the great instrumental composers of the 17th century. As such, it demands to be added to the collection of everyone who values music-making of peerless quality.

FANFARE: Brian Robins

[Lance]

I also have a Naxos disc featuring music of Marais & Ste. Colombe called "The Greatest Masterworks" with Spectre de la Rose [Naxos 8.550750]. I'm sure you must have this one, both Muniini and Chalkster.

[val]

Regarding Sainte Colombe, the two CD with Savall and Wieland Kuijken, severe, dark, are an absolute reference to me.

Regarding Marin Marais, I would also chose the recordings of Savall, not only the Suites for "basse de viole" but also orchestral suites, such as the wonderful suite of Alcione.

An old recording, with Wieland and Sigiswald Kuijken and Leonhardt, gave the best version of the sublime "Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève" and "Le Tombeau de Monsieur de Sainte Colombe".

[johnQpublic]

Here's the one I have:

"Suitte d'un gout etranger" with Christophe Coin & Christophe Rousset on Deccca.


Good stuff

[Chalkperson]

Regarding Sainte Colombe, the two CD with Savall and Wieland Kuijken, severe, dark, are an absolute reference to me.

The Sainte Colombe recordings by Les Voix Humanes are actually a Complete Traversal, four 2CD Sets, a lot to take in, but, played over a number of months/years they are hugely enjoyable...also worth a listen is a recent disc by Julien Leonard, Skip Sempé, Joshua Cheatham of works by Marais and Saint Colombe it is beautifully played and recorded, it also contains a DVD...I have never seen a two CD Set of Sainte Colombe by Savaal and Kuijken, what label is it on Val...

[Muniini K. Mulera]

Thank you all. My CD collection will grow and my bank account will shrink - thanks to your recommendations.

Muniini

[val]

Chalkperson

I have never seen a two CD Set of Sainte Colombe by Savaal and Kuijken, what label is it on Val...

It is not a set. In fact, both CD were recorded by ASTRÉE, but one in 1976 and the other in 1992. Both CD propose different works. And, believe me, they are very impressive.

[Chalkperson]

Chalkperson

I have never seen a two CD Set of Sainte Colombe by Savaal and Kuijken, what label is it on Val...

It is not a set. In fact, both CD were recorded by ASTRÉE, but one in 1976 and the other in 1992. Both CD propose different works. And, believe me, they are very impressive.

They have never been re-issued on Alia Vox, unfortunately, I do have Savaal's three CD Set of Sainte Colombe Le Fils/Marais, and also the one of Marais's Suite D'un Goût Etranger...