Lesser-Known Composer of the Month: Marin Marais

Wait, Who?

Marin Marais was one of the preeminent exponents of the viola da gamba. He was the son of a shoemaker, but his uncle was a vicar who helped him gain a place in his church's choir school.

Marais studied the viol with the famous yet enigmatic virtuoso Sainte-Colombe.  A heavily fictionalized account of Marais's relationship with Sainte-Colombe and his daughters is the basis for the film Tous les matins du monde.

By the time he was about 20 he was playing for the orchestra of the Opéra in Paris, where he recieved additional instruction from Jean-Baptiste Lully.  He also played for the court in Paris and Versailles and from 1679 was a member of the king's musical establishment. He continued to play (and later compose) for the Opéra, and in 1706 he became conductor of the orchestra.

In the last twenty years of his life, Marais gradually withdrew from public view.

Marais was also a rigorous and demanding teacher for most of his life, in part by necessity as the supplemental income was needed to support his numerous children.  Several of them continued in his footsteps and also became professional viol players.

Marais's fame rests first and foremost on his talents as a player of and composer for the bass viol. He published five books of suites for 1-3 viols, altogether comprising nearly 600 pieces.  These consist of preludes and conventional dance movements as well as discriptively-titled character pieces.  A handful of additional pieces survived in manuscript copies preserved in Scotland.  Other published works include a collection of trios for flutes, violins, or treble viols and continuo.

Marais also composed four operas for the Paris Opéra, all tragedies en musique in the manner of Lully. His Sémélé of 1709 was not successful and was the last dramatic work he attempted.

He is known to have written several motets, but these have all been lost.