Marin Marais (French:[maʁɛ̃maʁɛ]; 31 May 1656, inParis – 15 August 1728, in Paris) was a Frenchcomposer andviol player. He studied composition withJean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with master of the bass violMonsieur de Sainte-Colombe for six months. In 1676 he was hired as a musician to the royal court ofVersailles and was successful there, being appointed in 1679 asordinaire de la chambre du roy pour la viole, a title he kept until 1725.
He was the father of the composerRoland Marais (c. 1685 – c. 1750).
Marin Marais was a master of the viol, and the leading French composer of music for the instrument. He wrote five books ofPièces de viole (1686–1725) for the instrument, generally suites withbasso 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 ofPièces en trio (1692) and four operas (1693–1709),Alcyone (1706) being noted for its tempest scene.
Titon du Tillet included Marais inLe Parnasse françois, making the following comments on two of his pieces,Le Labyrinthe, perhaps inspired bythe labyrinth of Versailles,[1] andLa Gamme:
A piece from his fourth book entitledThe Labyrinth, which passes through various keys, strikes variousdissonances and notes the uncertainty of a man caught in alabyrinth through serious and then quick passages; he comes out of it happily and finishes with a gracious and naturalchaconne. But he surprised musical connoisseurs even more successfully with his pieces calledLa Gamme [The Scale], which is apiece de symphonie that imperceptibly ascends the steps of the octave; one then descends, thereby going through harmonious songs and melodious tones, the various sounds of music.
As withSainte-Colombe, little of Marin Marais' personal life is known after he reached adulthood. Marin Marais married a Parisian, Catherine d'Amicourt, on 21 September 1676. They had 19 children together.
Facsimiles of all five books of Marais'Pièces de viole are published byÉditions J.M. Fuzeau. A complete critical edition of his instrumental works in seven volumes, edited byJohn Hsu, is published byBroude Brothers.
Marais is credited with being one of the earliest composers ofprogram music.[2] His workThe Bladder-Stone Operation,[3] for viola da gamba andharpsichord, includes composer's annotations such as "The patient is bound with silken cords" and "He screameth."[2] The title has often been interpreted as "The Gall-Bladder Operation," but that surgery was not performed until the late 19th century.[4] Urinary bladder surgery to remove stones was already a medical specialty in Paris in the 17th century.[5][6]
Sonnerie de Ste-Genevieve du Mont,Suite en Do majeur (C major),Suite en Re majeur (D major); performers:Nikolaus Harnoncourt, A. Harnoncourt, L. Stastny, H. Tachezi; recording label: Harmonia Mundi, France, no. HMC 90414; 1973, 1987.
Les Folies d'Espagne,La rêveuse, 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.
Pièces de viole du Second Livre (1701) (Le Parnasse de la Viole, vol. II) – Jordi Savall et al. – Alia Vox AV 9828
Suite d'un Goût Étranger,Pièces de viole du Quatrième Livre (1717), (Le Parnasse de la Viole, vol. III) – Jordi Savall et al. – Alia Vox AVSA 9851
Pièces de viole du Cinquième Livre ~ J.Savall,C. Coin,T. Koopman, H. Smith, A. Gallet ~ Alia Vox AVSA 9872
Alcione, Tragédie lyrique, Jennifer Smith, Gilles Ragon, Philippe Huttenlocher, Vincent Le Texier, Véronique Gens, Les Musiciens du Louvre, conducted byMarc Minkowski, 3 CD Erato 1990
Alcione, Suites des Airs à joüer (1706), Le Concert des Nations, conducted byJordi Savall, CD Astrée-Auvidis 1994
Sémélé, Tragédie lyrique, Shannon Mercer, Bénédicte Tauran, Jaël Azzaretti, Marc Labonnette,Le Concert Spirituel conducted byHervé Niquet, 2 CD Glossa 2007. Le Diamant magazine Opéra, 10 de Classica, Diapason découverte.
Ariane et Bacchus (1696), Suite d'orchestre, The Versailles Revolution, Indiana Baroque Orchestra, conducted byBarthold Kuijken, CD Naxos 2018
Premier Livre de pièces de viole, complete (1686), L'Achéron, François Joubert-Caillet, viole de gambe. 4 CD Ricercar 2016–2017. Diapason d'or.
Deuxième Livre de pièces de viole, complete (1701), L'Achéron, François Joubert-Caillet, viole de gambe. 5 CD Ricercar 2019. Diapason d'or.
Troisième Livre de Pièces de Viole, complete (1711), L'Achéron, François Joubert-Caillet, viole de gambe. 4 CD Ricercar 2021.
Quatrième Livre de Pièces de Viole , complete (1717), L’Achéon, François Joubert-Caillet, viole de gambe. 4 CD Ricercar 2021.
Cinquième Livre de pièces de Viole, complete (1725), L’Achéron, François Joubert-Caillet, viole de Gambe. 3 CD Ricercar 2021 (parution 11/2023).
Alcione, Tragédie lyrique,Lisandro Abadie,Marc Mauillon, Cyril Auvity, Le Concert des Nation, conducted by Jordi Savall, 3 SACD Alia Vox 2020
Ariane et Bacchus (1696), Tragédie lyrique, Judith Van Wanroij (Ariane), Mathias Vidal (Bacchus), Véronique Gens (La Nymphe de la Seine, Juno), Marie Perbost (La Gloire, Corcine), David Witczak (Adraste), Les Chantres du Centre de Musique baroque de Versailles, Le Concert Spirituel, conducted by Hervé Niquet. 2 CD Alpha 2023. Diapason d'or
^Evers, S (1993). "[Tableau de l'opération de la taille by Marin Marais (1725)—a bladder calculus operation represented in music]".Urologe A (in German).32 (3):254–9.PMID8511837.
^[G. Grey Turner], "History of Gall-Bladder Surgery," British Medical Journal, 4 March 1939, pp. 464–65.
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