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Music of Marin Marais, from Book I (1689) and Book IV (1717) of his Pièces de viole, for one to three bass viols, theorbo, and harpsichord.

 

Marin Marais (1656–1728) was a preeminent French baroque master of the bass viola da gamba, or basse de viole, for which he wrote five books of Pièces de viole, containing over 500 works for that instrument. Little more than a decade after his death, Hubert Le Blanc eulogized him as “he who founded and firmly established the empire of the viol.” The program includes works for one, two, and three viols, with accompaniment provided by the colorful team of viol, theorbo, and harpsichord.