Marin Marais's Pieces de Violes

Author(s): Clyde H. Thompson

Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 4 (Oct., 1960), pp. 482-499
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/740751 .
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MARIN MARAIS'S PIECES DE VIOLES
By
CLYDE H. THOMPSON
MARIN
MARAIS was the central
figure
in the French school of
bass-viol
composers
and
performers
that flourished
during
the
late 17th and
early
18th centuries. He
spent
his entire life in
Paris,
and
the
greater part
of it in
royal
service. First
appointed
as Ordinaire de la
Musique
de
la
Chambre du Roi in
1685,
he retained that
post through-
out the
reign
of Louis XIV and from 1715 to 1725 served under the
Regency
and Louis XV. His
contemporaries recognized
him as an out-
standing performer
and a
composer
of stature whose works for viols
and the
operatic stage
were known
beyond
the boundaries of France.
These barest of facts
represent
almost the entire
body
of
readily
available information
concerning
a musician who was a
major figure
in
French music
during
his lifetime. Little else about Marais's life,
and
even less about his
music,
has
appeared
in
print.'
Music historians from
Hawkins and
Burney
to the
present
have accorded him
passing
mention,
at
least,
and some
have,
albeit
cautiously,
extolled the excellence of
his works. In
addition,
the revival of interest in the viols and,
concur-
rently,
an occasional
performance
of a
piece by
Marais have focused
attention on Marais and his
contemporaries,
who
represent
the final
flowering
of the literature for these once
indispensable
instruments. Still,
the
poverty
of information
persists.
This seems
particularly
curious since
the
period
in which he lived
produced
some of the most important
developments
in the
history
of
string
music. In view of the increasing
interest in the music of this
period
and Marais's admitted stature in
that
epoch,
it seems
pertinent
to
supply
some additional detail concerning
his life and times and a discussion of his contribution to the art of
1
See Richard Newton, Hommage
c~
Marin
Marais,
in The Consort, June 1952,
14 ff.; Newton,
More About Marais, in The Consort, July 1953, 12 ff.; Fran<ois
Lesure, Marin
Marais,
in Revue
belge
de musicologie, VII (1953), 129 ff.; Maurice
Barthilemy,
Les
Operas
de
Marin
Marais, ibid., 136
ff.;
Laurence Boulay, La Musique
instrumentale de Marin Marais, in La Revue musicale, Numdro Special, No. 226
(March 1956),
73
ff.
482
Marin Marais's Pisces de Violes 483
le
grand
siecle.
Moreover,
it would
appear
that those who are
especially
interested in the literature for viols
may
find an
exposition
of the
contents of Marais's five books of Pidces de Violes
particularly
useful.
The most extensive account of Marin Marais's life and works was
provided by
Titon du Tillet in his Le Parnasse
frangois (Paris, 1732).
Dedicated to the
greater glory
of the
practically
divine Louis
XIV,
the
work
depicted
an
imaginary
Parnassus of
poetry
and music over which
Louis ruled with noble forbearance. The
leading poets
and musicians
of the late 17th and
early
18th centuries were
given places
around the
throne in accordance with their
importance. Marin Marais,
in
company
with
Jean-Baptiste Lully, Climent Marot,
Isaac de
Benserade, Philippe
Quinault,
and Michel
Delalande, among others,
was included in the
royal entourage.
Each member of the select
group
was
eulogized
in the
body
of the work
by
a medallion
engraved
in his likeness and a section
devoted to his life and
accomplishments (see
Plate
I).
Le Parnasse
frangois
is an invaluable source for information
concerning poets
and
musicians of this
period.
In the case of
Marais,
it
appears
to have served
as the most
important single repository
of
contemporary
information.'
Titon relates that Marais was born in Paris on
May 31, 1656,
and
died there on
August 15,
1728. As a
boy,
he was a member of the
choir of the
Sainte-Chapelle
and in his teens studied the basse de viole
with Hotman and
Sainte-Colombe,
both
important figures
in the
early
development
of French
string
music. Marais entered the
royal
orchestra
as a soloist in 1685 and about the same time became a member of the
orchestra of the
Acadimie
Royale
de
Musique.
In the latter
position
he
played
under the direction of
Lully,
who later became his teacher in
composition.
Marais
spent
the remainder of his life
performing
and
composing,
and also
fathering
nineteen
children,
several of whom became
important figures
in French musical life.
The list of works that Titon
provides comprises
five volumes of
Pidces
de Violes
(1686-1725);
a book of Pidces en Trio
(1692),
which
appear
to be the first of their kind
published
in France;
four
operas:
Alcide
(1693),
Ariadne et Bacchus
(1696),
Alcione
(1703),
and
2
Titon's essay
on Marais is
clearly
the basis for other well-known articles on
Marais. The information given by
Laborde in his Essai sur la musique (Paris, 1780,
III, 449)
is based almost entirely
on Titon's work. Whole sentences were lifted intact
from Titon's essay.
Similar practices
are evident in the articles by
William Barclay
Squire
in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., V, 559
f.;
Sir John
Hawkins,
General History of the Science and Practice of Music, London, 1776, V,
45
f., reprint London, 1875, II,
779.
484 The Musical
Quarterly
Semild (1709);
a Te Deum which Titon states was
performed
at the
occasion of the convalescence of Monsieur le
Dauphin, apparently
in
1701;
and a
group
of
works, consisting
of La
Gamme,
Sonnate
a
la
Maresienne,
and La Sonnerie de Sainte GeneviLve du Mont,
that were
performed
sur le
Violon, la
Viole
&
le Clavecin and
appeared together
in folio in 1723. The last three works
apparently
have not survived.
The Te
Deum,
described as in
manuscript by Titon, appears
to have
suffered the same fate.
The instrument for which Marais wrote the
major portion
of his
works is
commonly
referred to as the viola da
gamba. Strictly speaking,
however,
it was the small bass of the viol
family,
which in the 17th
and
early
18th centuries included as
many
as nine different sizes of
instruments,
all called
by
the
generic
name viola da
gamba.
Marais's
instrument
-
viola da
gamba,
bass
viol,
basse de viole, or, simply,
"gamba"
-
was somewhat smaller than the
modem
'cello and had frets
and seven
strings,
tuned to
A1,
D, G, c, e, a,
d'.
According
to
contemporary accounts,
Marais was
recognized
as the
greatest performer
on the bass viol of his era. Hubert le Blanc
reported
that Marais
played
the viol "like an
angel,"3
and
Johann
Gottfried
Walther
called him "an
incomparable
French
violdigambist."'4
Con-
temporary judgments
of his
prowess
as a
composer
are no less enthu-
siastic.
Joachim Christoph
Nemeitz declared that Marais's works "were
known
by
the whole of
Europe."5
Titon stated: "One
recognizes
the
fecundity
and
elegance
of the
genius
of this musician
by
the
quantity
of works he has
composed.
One finds
everywhere
in them
good
taste
and a
surprising variety."'6
Although
Marais's
operas,
trio
sonatas,
and other
compositions
were
widely performed during
his
lifetime,
the most
significant part
of his
musical
output
is
represented by
the five books of Pidces de Violes that
he
produced
over a
period
of
forty years,
between 1686 and 1725.
These collections include more than 550
compositions
for one, two,
and
three bass viols and
figured
bass. All volumes were
originally published
3
Hubert le
Blanc, Difense de la basse de viole, Paris, 1740, p.
59.
4
Johann
Gottfried
Walther,
Musicalisches Lexicon (1732),
facsimile ed. by
Richard Schaal, Kassel, 1953, p.
382,
5
Joachim Christoph Nemeitz, Sejour de Paris, Leiden, 1727, p.
352.
6
Le Parnasse fran~ois, p.
626. "On connoit la
ficondit6
& la
beautC
du genie
de ce Musicien par
la
quantit6 d'ouvrages qu'il a composez. On y trouve par-tout
un bon
goft
&
une
variett surprenante."
1x~
Plate I
Medallions
struck in honor of
Manin
Marais
and Michel Delalande. From Le Parnasse
frangois.
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Marin Marais's Pidces de Violes 485
by
the
composer.
Etienne
Rogers, according
to a list of his
publications
issued in
1716, reprinted
at least the first three
volumes.7
The
Rogers
reprints
were
piracies,
but
they
did follow the
originals closely
and
contained all the directions for
bowing, fingering,
and
interpretation
that were
present
in the Paris editions. Marais's first volume was reissued
from the
original plates
in 1698. The fourth volume was
reprinted
in
Paris in
1729,
in accordance with a
royal privilege granted
to the
composer's
heirs in that
year."
All collections were
printed
in
separate part-books
for each of the
viols and the
figured
bass. The
only
works that
appeared
in score were
ten additional
pieces
that were
appended
to the Basse-continues des
pieces
d
une et
t
deux Violes
(1689).
While the notation
employed
in
the collections
generally corresponds
to modern
practice,
cadential
groups
often contain more notes than the actual time value allows. These are
invariably
florid
passages
in which the
groups
of notes function as
ornamental
figures
that do not alter the
rhythmic progress.
The clefs
employed
include three C clefs
(mezzo-soprano, alto,
and
tenor),
in
addition to the G and F clefs. Marais's
preludes
are
consistently
barred
throughout,
unlike those
by
earlier
composers
for the
lute, clavecin,
and
viol,
which were left unbarred in accordance with their
improvisatory
character.
Marais,
like
Frangois Couperin, apparently
hesitated to leave
his
examples
unbarred. Both
composers, however,
retained the free
style
and
impromptu
character that was
traditionally
associated with this
type
of movement.
Although
the five collections contain similar
types
of
pieces, they
differ in
design
and in the number of instrumental
parts required.
The
great majority
of works was intended for one bass viol and
figured
bass.
All collections include
pieces
for this combination. Book I offers
twenty
additional works for two viols and
figured
bass. The
preface
to each
volume,
with the
exception
of the
first,
states that
many
of the
pieces
are
appropriate
for other
instruments,
such as the treble
viol, violin,
organ, theorbo,
and transverse flute.
The
grouping
of
single compositions
into
larger entities,
i. e. suites
or sets of works that exhibit some kind of formal
unity,
follows no
7
See Denis
Vairaisse, Histoire des Severambes, Peuples qui Hapitent Une
Partie du troisidme Continent communiment
appell
La Terre Australe, Amsterdam:
Etienne Rogers, 1716, II, 345. The
publisher
included a list of his musical
pub-
lications as an
appendix
to this volume.
8 Michel Brenet,
La Librairie musicale en France de 1653
&
1790, in Sammel-
biinde
der Internationalen
Musikgesellschaft,
VIII
(1905-07), 432.
486 The Musical
Quarterly
consistent
plan.
French
composers
of the late 17th and
early
18th
centuries did not share the interest in the
development
of the suite as
a unified form that was manifested
by
their German
contemporaries.
Sebastien de Brossard's Dictionnaire de
musique (1703)
does not list
the term suite as such. As late as
1768,
the Dictionnaire de
musique by
Jean Jacques
Rousseau entered under suite
only
a reference to the article
sonate, where, however,
the term suite is
sufficiently
clarified. Marais did
refer to a set of his
pieces
as a suitte in the
preface
to the Basse-continues
of
1689,
but his first use of the term as a title for a set of movements
does not
appear
before the Fourth Book
(1717).
Marais
consistently
uses a common
tonality
for all the
pieces
in a
specific set,
with but two
exceptions,
in all of his collections. In this
practice
he followed the lead of the lute
composers
and their successors,
the clavecin
composers.
The two collections of solo-viol music that
appeared
before the
publication
of Marais's first
volume,
the first
by
a
certain Du Buisson
(1660)
and the other
by
the better-known Le Sieur
de
Machy (1685),
adhered to the familiar
sequence, prelude,
allemande,
sarabande,
and
gigue,
with but one
exception.
De
Machy
substituted a
chaconne for the
gigue
in his last
suite.9
The
plan
of Marais's suites lies
somewhere between the
fairly
circumscribed content and
sequence
em-
ployed by
the lute and earlier viol
composers,
and the
flexible,
inconstant
arrangement
evident in the works of the clavecin masters.
Many
of
Marais's sets are limited to the established dance movements, with the
addition of the double, minuet,
and
gavotte.
Others contain as
many
as
forty-one separate pieces.
The
larger
sets
normally
include the usual
dance movements
and,
in
addition, chaconne, fantaisie,
rondeau, and a
great variety
of
special pieces
that the
composer
termed les pidces
de
caracteres. The term suite
hardly
seems
appropriate
for such diverse sets
of works. Most of
them, however,
do include the standard dance forms
that were
typical
of the
suite,
and the
unifying
bond
provided by
a
common
tonality.
These
traits, coupled
with the fact that the composer
himself
employed
the word suitte in reference to them, seem to supply
ample justification
for the use of the term.
Marais's first collection of
pieces
for viols
(see
Plate
II)
was dedi-
cated to
Lully
and
appeared
in 1686 under the title PIECES a une
et a deux VIOLES
Compose'es par
M. Marais ordinaire de la musique
de la Chambre du
Roy.
Its formal
design incorporates
features found
in the
publications
of his
predecessors.
All the traditional dance forms
SLe Sieur de Machy,
Pieces de Violle, Paris,
1685.
Marin Marais's Pisces de Violes 487
are
present.
There
is, however,
no visible
attempt
to establish a definite
order.
Prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande,
and
gigue appear
in
all the suites and
usually
in the same order. The movements
are,
how-
ever, frequently separated by
other
pieces, doubles,
or
by duplications
of the same
type.
Most suites introduce a
prelude
as the initial member
and maintain the same
tonality throughout.
The first
suite,
in D
minor,
demonstrates the
apparent
looseness of the scheme:
1. Prelude
2. Prelude
3. Prelude
4. Prelude
5. Fantaisie
6. Allemande
7. Double
8. Allemande
9. Double
10. Courante
11. Double
12. Sarabande
13. Courante
14. Double
15. Sarabande
16.
Gigue
17. Double
18.
Gigue
19.
Gigue
20. Double
21.
Fantaisie
22. Rondeau
23. Menuet
24. Rondeau
25. Menuet
26. Gavotte en
Rondeau
27. Gavotte
Eleven different
types
of
works, omitting doubles,
are
present
in a
set
containing twenty-seven compositions.
The suite includes four
pre-
ludes,
two
allemandes,
two
courantes,
two sarabandes,
three
gigues,
in
addition to the doubles and miscellaneous movements. It seems clear
that the
composer
did not intend the set to be
performed
as a continuous
group
of
pieces. Rather,
he offered a collection of
compositions
from
which a
performer
could select a smaller
group
of
contrasting works,
or which he could use as a
repository
of assorted
pieces
in
any
manner
that seemed
appropriate.
The
arrangement
offers
many possibilities
for
a
variety
of
sequence
- a virtue that
may
have had considerable value
for Marais and other
performers.
The second
suite,
in D
major,
reveals a somewhat different
plan.
The
customary prelude
is followed
by
a fantaisie
and a second
prelude.
Two allemandes and a
double,
two courantes and a double, two sara-
bandes and two
gigues ensue,
in that order. The remainder of the suite
includes a
paysanne, rondeau, gavotte,
three minuets, and a lengthy
chaconne. The
disparity
in the order of
pieces
in the two suites has no
apparent purpose.
Each set
provides
several choices for a
pleasing
suc-
cession of
contrasting
works.
488 The Musical
Quarterly
The seventeen
remaining compositions
for one bass viol are divided
into two shorter
groups.
The first of
these,
set in G
minor, comprises
a
prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue, gavotte,
and minuet.
An additional
prelude,
in D
minor, separates
the G minor
group
from
the last set. The
latter,
in A
major,
includes nine
pieces: prelude,
boutade,
allemande and
double, courante,
two sarabandes, gigue,
and
minuet.
Twenty compositions
for two bass viols and
figured
bass
comprise
the
second
part
of Book I. The first
suite, containing
seven
pieces
in D
minor,
offers the familiar dance
group: prelude,
allemande, courante,
sarabande,
and
gigue,
with the addition of a
gavotte
and minuet. The
second
set,
in G
major,
includes the five basic movements,
and a
gavotte
en rondeau,
two
minuets,
a
fantaisie,
and a chaconne. The final
work in the
volume,
the Tombeau de Mr. Meliton,
is a
powerful,
genuinely fugal composition
in D minor.
At first
glance,
it seems evident from the contents of Book I that
Marais was not concerned with the
exploitation
of a
prescribed sequence
of movements. In the first two suites for one viol the order of move-
ments
appears
almost
haphazard.
Closer examination, however,
reveals
that, although
the traditional dances are
separated by
other
types,
doubles,
and
duplications,
the basic
principles
of the established
sequence
are maintained. The third and fourth suites demonstrate distinctly
this
adherence to
general practice.
The third is augmented only by a gavotte
and minuet;
the fourth
by
a boutade, a double for the allemande, an
extra sarabande,
and a minuet. A similar
plan
is used for the two suites
for two viols. The basic set of dances is increased by
the addition of
extra dance
pieces
or character
pieces
of a
special
nature. A tabulation
of the kinds of movements
presented
in the First Book, with an indi-
cation of the number of times each
type appears,
discloses the following
relationships:
Pieces for
one viol
Preludes
9
Allemandes
6
Doubles
4
Courantes
6
Doubles
3
Sarabandes
7
Gigues
7
Doubles
2
Menuets
7
Pieces
for
two viols
Preludes
2
Allemandes
2
Courantes
2
Sarabandes
2
Gigues
2
Gavottes
3
Menuets
5
Gavotte en rondeau 2
Fantaisie en Echo
1
Marin Marais's Pisces de Violes 489
Rondeaux 4
Gavottes 3
Fantaisies 3
Gavotte en rondeau 1
Boutade 1
Paysanne
1
Chaconne 1
Chaconne 1
As the tabulation
demonstrates,
the content of the suites for two
viols
is,
in
fact,
almost traditional. The sets for one viol
provide
a
greater variety
of movements and a more uneven
disposition
of the
types.
Solo
players,
and
especially
the
professionals, were,
no
doubt,
in
greater
need of a
variety
of
repertory
than ensemble
players.
The suites
for two viols were
conceivably designed
for
amateurs,
or teacher and
pupil.
As noted
above,
the Basse-continues for the First Book did not
appear
until three
years
after the
publication
of the solo
parts.
In addition to
the
figured basses,
the volume contains ten new
compositions
in score.
The first
eight
of these
comprise
the movements of a suite:
prelude,
allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue, minuet, rondeau,
and
fantaisie.
The ninth
work,
a
ground
bass with
twenty
variations entitled
Sujet
et
Diversitez,
is for two viols
unaccompanied.
Marais comments on this
composition
as follows:
The
ground bass, upon
which one will find
twenty couplets composed above,
was
given
to me
by
a
foreigner
for
making
all these variations on
it,
which I have
taken
pleasure
in
working out,
for this
subject
seemed
very good
to me. It
changes
at the end to B-flat
[G
minor];
the same
subject
is
always played
while
the second viol varies all the
couplets. 10
The work is similar to the
English
divisions on a
ground
which are
thoroughly explained by Christopher Simpson
in The Division Violist
(1659).1"
The last
work,
a
rondeau,
is chordal
throughout.
Marais adds a
brief comment on this
piece, too,
and offers a
justification
for the
extreme demands it makes on the
performer:
"It is
only
difficult be-
cause of the abundance of
harmony.
But this
piece
and all the other
10 Marais, Basse-continuis
des
pidces
&
une et
&
deux Violes
(1689),
Preface.
"Le
sujet
de
Basse,
ou l'on trouvera vingt couplets
faits
dessus,
m'a est6
donni
par
un
Etranger, pour y faire toutes ces variations, que j'ay pris plaisir a travailler: car
ce
sujet
ma
paru
fort bon: Il
change
sur la fin en b mol. Ce mesme
sujet se
joiie
tofijours
pendant que la Seconde Viole
varie
les
couplets."
"Facsimile
reprint London,
1955.
490 The Musical
Quarterly
previous
ones were made
expressly
for those who have a
very great
ability
on the
viol."'"
Marais's second collection of Pifces de Violes
(1701)
was dedicated
to his
patron
and
life-long friend,
the Duc
d'Orlians.
Its
design
differs
sharply
from the
plan
of the First Book. The first collection had been
composed expressly
for the bass
viol,
and contained a
large proportion
of works that demanded
genuine virtuosity,
as Marais himself had
stated.
Shortly
before the
publication
of the first
collection,
Marais had
been
appointed
to the
post
of soloist in the
royal
band. The
compositions
of that
period
no doubt reflected his interest in the technical resources
of his instrument and his
youthful
enthusiasm for the
exploitation
of
virtuosity.
The
change
of attitude in Book II is
expressed
in the choice
of
short,
tuneful
pieces
and in the admission that the
compositions
were
not intended
exclusively
for the bass
viol,
but were
"appropriate
for
playing
on all sorts of instruments,
such as the
organ, harpsichord,
theorbo, lute, violin,
and German flute." Moreover,
Marais offered
special
instructions for those who
might
wish to
play
the tunes from the
pieces
without
bothering
to learn the works themselves.
Special
attention
was
given
to the
figured basses,
in order to make them more melodic
and
readily adaptable
for the several instruments that
might perform
them.13
The Second Book
comprises
seven
long suites, totaling
141
separate
compositions.
The individual suites contain as
many
as
forty-one
and as
few as thirteen
pieces.
As in the First Book, the works are numbered
consecutively. Only
the
change
of
tonality
and the
appearance
of a new
prelude signal
the
beginning
of a new set. In addition to the tonalities
present
in the first collection
-
D minor,
D
major,
G major,
and G
minor
-
Marais uses B minor,
A
major,
E minor,
and E major.
The
disposition
of the works into the seven suites is as follows:
1-41 D minor Suite I
42-64 D
major
Suite II
65-82 G
major
Suite III
83-95 B minor Suite IV
96-110 E minor Suite V
111-124
E
major
Suite VI
125-141
A
major
Suite VII
12
Marais, Basse-continues, Preface. "Elle n'a de difficult6 que par
la quantit6
des
accords. Mais cette piece,
et touttes les autres cy devant, ont est6 faittes expres pour
ceux qui
auront une tres grande
habitude sur la Viole."
13 Marais,
Book II,
Preface.
Marin Marais's Pisces de Violes 491
Each of the suites contains at least one or more of each of the
standard movements-
prelude, courante, sarabande,
and
gigue.
As
in the first
collection, they appear
in that order
although they may
be
separated by
other
compositions.
Additional
types
that
appear
most
frequently
are
minuet, gavotte, rondeau, and
fantaisie.
The nine
types
account for 112 of the 141
compositions.
The
remaining pieces
include
a
chaconne, bourasque, boutade, folette, passacaille,
and les
pidces
de
caracture,
so-called "character
pieces"
with
descriptive
titles. Of
par-
ticular interest are the four most extensive works in the collection. These
include
Folies, thirty-two
variations on a La Folia
theme,
which
compare
favorably
with Corelli's more famous
set;
two
tombeaux,
one dedicated
to
Lully
and the other to
Sainte-Colombe;
and a
fascinating polyphonic
piece
entitled
Fuge [sic] gaye.
Surrounded
by relatively simple pieces,
these
compositions clearly represent
the
major
efforts of the volume.
They
were
obviously
intended
specifically
for the bass viol and for
performers
of formidable
capacities.
The
following
tabulation contains
all the
types
of works that
appear
more than once in Book
II,
and
the number of times each
type
is
represented:
Preludes 14
Allemandes 15
Doubles 4
Courantes 10
Sarabandes 16
Gigues
16
Doubles 1
Minuets 19
Rondeaux 9
Gavottes 7
Fantaisies 6
Chaconnes 3
Tombeaux 2
Boutades 2
The
remaining single
works bear the titles:
Bourasque,
La
folette,
Ca-
price,
Ballet en
rondeau, Folies,
Cloches
ou Carillon, Paysanne,
La
Polonaise,
Les voix
humaines, Passacaille, Fuge gaye, Pavanne,
La Gra-
cieux,
Branle de
village, Echo,
Air en
Vaudeville,
with
Double,
and La
vilageoise.
The third collection of Pices de Violes
(1711)
continues the
trend,
established in Book
II,
towards
short,
tuneful
pieces
that make
relatively
modest demands on the
performer. Only
six works out of a total of 134
occupy
more than one
page
in the solo
part.
Marais comments on this
disposition
of
simple
and
complex pieces
in the dedication of the col-
lection.
Addressing
the
general public,
to whom the third collection is
dedicated,
Marais states that since the
publication
of his second volume
of Pidces de Violes he has received
many requests
for another similar
collection.
Expressing
the
hope
that this third volume will convince
the
public
that he has
neglected nothing
in his endeavor to merit the
492 The Musical
Quarterly
approval
accorded the second
collection,
he adds that the several
longer
and more
fully
harmonized
compositions
are included to
satisfy
more
advanced
performers.
The third volume contains nine suites for one viol and
figured
bass.
Each suite includes from twelve to nineteen
pieces
which are numbered
consecutively. They
are
grouped
in sets in the
following
manner:
1-13 A minor Suite I
14-25 A
major
Suite II
26-39 F
major
Suite III
40-58 D
major
Suite IV
59-75 B-flat
major
Suite V
76-91 G minor Suite VI
92-107 G
major
Suite VII
108-122 C
major
Suite VIII
123-134 C minor Suite IX
The five basic dance movements are
present
in all the suites. Each
species appears
once in a
set, except
in the fifth suite which has two
allemandes. The
sequence
of the movements
is,
in
general,
the same as
in the two earlier
publications.
The first
suite, however, presents
a
fantaisie
in lieu of the
customary prelude.
A
prelude appears
as the
eleventh member of that set. This
represents
the sole instance in Marais's
first three collections of a movement other than a
prelude serving
as
the first member of a suite. At least one
double,
for an allemande,
courante,
or
gigue,
is included in each
set, although
this
type
is less
frequent
than in the
previous
volumes.
Special
titles are common for
the individual dances,
such as Allemande la
Gotique, Gigue
L'incon-
stante,
Gavotte la
Sincope,
and Menuet
Fantasque.
Of
particular
interest
are several
pieces composed
as imitations of other instruments. These
include: La
Trompette,
Menuet
la
Guitarre, Menuet de Cor de Chasse,
and Gavotte du
goust
du theorbo
que
l'on peut pincer si l'on veut,
"Gavotte in the fashion of the
theorbo,
which
may
be
plucked
if one
wishes to do so."
Marais's fourth collection,
Pidces
a
une et
d
trois Violes (1717), is
the most diversified and,
in this
respect,
the most interesting of the five.
The
composer
calls it "an
attempt
to
satisfy
the different tastes of the
public
in
respect
to the viol . . . so that each one can find here what
suits him best."'4 The volume is divided into three parts, each devoted
14
Marais,
Book IV,
Preface.
Marin Marais's Pisces de Violes 493
to a
separate aspect
of
viol-playing.
The first
part comprises compositions
for
persons
"who
prefer pieces
that are
easy, melodious,
and contain
little
harmony
to difficult
ones."'5
Six Suittes,
so called
by
the
composer,
make
up
this section. Each includes from seven to thirteen works of
moderate
difficulty
for one viol and
figured
bass. All six commence
with a
prelude
and five offer an allemande as the second member. The
remainder of each set is filled out with
typical
dance movements and
character
pieces
that include La
Mignone,
La
petite Brillante,
Le
Basque,
La
Provengale,
and others. None of the suites includes a
courante,
a
type
that
appeared frequently
in the suites of the
preceding
volumes. The omission seems accountable
by
the characteristic
poly-
phonic
construction of most courantes in the
preceding
collections.
Marais, apparently,
avoided the
type
in order to minimize the amount
of harmonic
playing
in these
easy
suites. The trend towards
simplifi-
cation is further manifest in the
comparative rarity
of doubles. The
double, usually
the florid variation of a
preceding
allemande, sarabande,
or
gigue, appears only
twice in the six sets. The most extended com-
position
in this section of Book IV is the chaconne from the third suite,
but
this, too,
is less
complex
than similar movements in the earlier
publications.
Character
pieces comprise
a
large portion
of the total
number of works.
Many
of the standard dance movements are
supplied
with
descriptive titles,
of which Allemande la familibre, Rondeau le
Gracieux,
Allemande
l'Enfantine,
and Sarabande
a
l'Espagnol
are
typical.
The contents of Suites II and V demonstrate the
diversity
of
types
in two
separate
suites:
Suite II
Prelude
Allemande la Guimbault
Allemande la familibre
Boutade
Gavotte la Favorite
La
petite
Brillante
Rondeau le Gracieux
Suite V
Prelude
Caprice
Allemande l'Enfantine
Sarabande la Gracieuse
Gigue;
Double
Le
Basque;
Double
Branle de
Village
Menuet
Menuet
The six suites are set in D
minor,
D
major,
F
major,
A
minor,
A
major,
and E minor.
Although
the
composer avowedly designed
them
for amateur
performance,
his
description
of them as
easy
can hardly
be taken
literally.
Generous use of ornaments,
occasional passages
of
polyphonic
construction,
and
specified bowings
of some
intricacy require
s15
Ibid.
494 The Musical
Quarterly
a
performer
of no mean
accomplishments.
Marais's
simplifications lie,
rather,
in the
sparing
use of the harmonic
style
and the
brevity
of most
of the individual
pieces.
The second
part
of Book IV consists of one
long
set of
pieces
for
one viol and
figured bass,
entitled Suitte d'un
goat Etranger.
Marais
describes the Suitte as
composed expressly
for advanced
players
who
do not like
easy pieces
and who have
respect only
for works of extraor-
dinary difficulty.16
This
concept
is evident in the nature of the com-
positions
and in the
virtuosity they
demand from the
performer.
In content and
sequence
of movements the Suitte d'un
goat Etranger
bears little resemblance to Marais's
previous
suites. It includes
thirty-six
works of various
kinds,
and the succession of movements reveals no
apparent plan
in either the choice of movements or their
disposition.
The set contains neither a
prelude
nor a
courante,
and
only
ten of the
thirty-six pieces
are from the standard
group
of dance movements. Some
of the
titles,
such as March Tartare and
Pidce Luth&e,
indicate that
they
are distinct
types
that have been transformed into character
pieces by
Marais. Others,
of which
L'Ameriquaine,
a
playful rondo,
and La
Reveuse,
a
lengthy
set of
variations,
are
representative,
are
clearly
intended as
programmatic
works.
The Suitte d'un
goat Etranger employs
several
keys
and both modes,
in contrast to the
single, unifying tonality
characteristic of all Marais's
other suites. The
arrangement
of the
pieces
in the contrasting
tonalities
is as follows:
March Tartare E-flat major
Allemande
Sarabande
La Tartarine;
Double
Gavotte
Feste
Champetre
E minor
Muzette E major
Tamborin E minor
Gigue
Rondeau
Le Tourbillon
La Uniforme
L'Ameriquaine
E
major
Allemande E minor
16
Ibid.
Marin Marais's Pidces de Violes 495
Allemande
L'Asmatique
G
major
La Tourneuse
Muzette C
major
Caprice
ou Sonate A minor
Le
Labyrinthe
A
major
Chaconne
La Sauterelle D
major
La
Fougade
Allemande la Bizarre D minor
La Minauderie
Allemande la
Singulibre
F
major
L'Arabesque
Allemande la
Superbe
F minor
La Reveuse
March
F-sharp
minor
Gigue
Piece
Luthie
Gigue la Caustique
La
Badinage
The Suitte d'un
goat Etranger
includes
many
of Marais's most in-
teresting
and
challenging compositions.
Each
piece
in the set
possesses
a
distinct character
and,
in several
instances, requires
a
special
kind of
technique.
Notable in this
respect
are Le
Labyrinthe,
for its
modulatory
character; Caprice
ou
Sonate,
for its extended
two-part
formal
structure;
and
Allemande
la
Bizarre,
for its unusual instrumental demands. Most
of the works are so
clearly designed
for the
capacities
of the bass viol
that their
adaptability
for other instruments seems
questionable.
Both
in musical
quality
and instrumental
complexity
these
compositions may
well
represent
the ne
plus
ultra in the literature for the bass viol.
The final section of Book IV consists of two suites for three viols
and
figured
bass. The two
independent upper
voices are intended for
two solo viols. The third viol
ordinarily
doubles the bass line of the
figured bass;
it is
occasionally provided
with a
separate part,
but this
is almost
invariably
a diminution of the bass line.
Superficially,
the
works
appear
to resemble those for two viols and
figured
bass in the
First Book. The earlier
pieces, however,
offer in most cases
only
two
distinct
parts.
The
figured
bass was added after the solo
parts
had been
composed
and was derived from the solo
parts,
as Marais states in the
preface
to the
Basse-continuis
of 1689.
However,
if Marais
expected
a third viol to
support
the bass line in these
compositions,
as was
customary
in the
period,
the earlier works would
employ
the same
instrumental forces as the
pieces
for three viols from the Fourth Book.
496 The Musical
Quarterly
The basic difference between the two sets of works is that those in the
Fourth Book were conceived as
genuine three-part compositions,
while
those in the First Book are
essentially
in two
parts.
The two suites for three viols contain the standard dance movements,
with the addition of rondeau, gavotte, minuet,
and shorter character
pieces:
Suite I
Prelude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Gigue
Gavotte
Petite
Paysanne
Rondeau
Suite II
Caprice
Allemande
Courante
Paysanne
Gracieuse
Sarabande
Gigue
Gavotte
Rondeau
Muzette
Muzette;
Double
Menuet en Muzette
The initial movement of each suite is the
longest
and most
complex
of the set. Both the
prelude
from the first suite and the
caprice
from the
second are extended movements, consisting
of a slow
opening
section
followed
by
a faster
one,
both worked out in
fugal style.
The other
pieces,
with the
exception
of the rondeaux,
are
simple
and
relatively straight-
forward. The rondeaux are
fairly long
works containing
four refrains
separated by contrasting
material.
The Fourth Book is a
publication
of
great variety
and includes music
of undeniable beauty.
Its contents seem well tailored to the needs of
the
18th-century viol-playing public,
and Marais
appears
to have effectively
achieved his avowed aim
-
"to
satisfy
the different tastes of the public
in
respect
to the viol."
Marais's last collection of Pisces de Viole
(1725)
17
represents
a return
to the
plan
used in the Second and Third Books. All the pieces
are
for
17
In the record reviews of The Musical Quarterly (Vol. XL,
No. 1, January
1954, p. 136),
David Boyden
statedlthat Marais's Fifth Book of Pieces de Violes
was
published
in 1717 rather than .1725. This understandable error apparently
resulted
from the addition of the former date, in a typically 19th-century hand, on the
title
page
of the copy
of Book V in the possession
of the Bibliothbque Nationale.
Since
the publication
date of 1725 is corroborated not only by Titon but also by the
date
1725 on the Royal Privilege
included in the Paris edition of the Fifth Book,
there
seems little doubt that the appended
date 1717 appearing on this particular
title
page represents
an error in
judgment
on the part
of some enthusiastic but
inaccurate
bibliophile.
Marin Marais's Pisces de Violes 497
one bass viol and
figured
bass and most of them are of moderate diffi-
culty.
Each
suite, nevertheless,
contains one or more works for ac-
complished performers.
The 115
compositions
are
grouped
in seven
lengthy
suites. Individual suites include thirteen or more
pieces.
Each
set, except
the
fifth,
commences with a
prelude.
The fifth suite
replaces
the
customary prelude
with a
caprice.
None of the seven sets includes a
courante, although
all the other dance
types
are
present.
The
greater part
of the collection is made
up
of character
pieces, which, according
to the
composer,
were in
great vogue
at that
time.18 Again, many
of the dance
movements bear
descriptive titles,
such as Prelude le
Soligni (family
dedication),
Allemande
la
Fiere
(the Proud),
and La Demoi
Gigue
(unexplained). Only
the
gavottes
and minuets
consistently
lack these
pseudo-programmatic implications.
In the first
suite,
set in A
minor,
the
dance movements and character
pieces
are about
equally represented:
Prelude
la Soligni
Allemande La Facile
Sarabande
La
Marine
Gavotte
Gigue
Menuet
Simple
Menuet Double
La
Sincope
Petit
Caprice
Rondeau
Bagatelle
Fantaisie
Grande Gavotte
Gigue
!a
Mutine
Rondeau
Prelude en
Harpbgement
The second
set,
in A
major,
reveals about the same distribution of
character
pieces
and dance movements. In the third
group
the
descriptive
works outnumber the dance
types. Only
six of fifteen
compositions
lack
some kind of extra-musical title:
Prelude
Allemande la bois Guillaume
Sarabande
La Demoi
Gigue
Menuet
Menuet; Double
Gavotte
Rondeau
Paysan
Rondeau le Douceroux
Idle Grotesque
Double
Les
Forgerons
Le touche du Clavecin
Prelude en
Harpgement
Dance movements dominate the fourth suite. It
contains, however,
a
formidable set of variations entitled Variations sur une basse contrainte,
a
particularly interesting
Fantaisie et Double,
and an
especially charming
gigue,
La Fromental. The
penultimate work,
a
caprice
in D
minor, repre-
sents the
only
instance in the Fifth Book in which Marais violates the
tonal
unity
of a suite.
18 Marais, Book V, Preface.
498 The Musical
Quarterly
The fifth and sixth suites
present
about
equal
numbers of
descrip-
tive
pieces
and dance movements. The fifth set includes the
composer's
elegy
for one of his deceased
sons,
a
gently moving
work entitled
Tombeau
pour
Marais le Cadet. The Rondeau le Badin and
Georgienne
dite la
Maupertuy
are the most
demanding
works in the set. The sixth
suite,
in G
major,
offers several works of
extraordinary
interest: Sallie du
Jardin,
Le
jeu
du Volant,
Le
petit badinage,
and
Dialogue.
The final
group
of
compositions
in Book V is
among
the most attrac-
tive of Marais's suites. The set numbers
twenty-five pieces,
of which
only
four are without
descriptive
titles. As in the other sets in the Fifth
Book,
most of the
compositions
make
only
modest technical
demands,
but each
piece projects
an individual character
quite
without
parallel
in Marais's
five collections.
Especially appealing
are La
Simplicite Paysanne,
Alle-
mande
la Bailly Duchesse,
and Resveries
Mesplainiennes.
La
Caprice
Bellemont,
named for a
violist-colleague,
Les
Relavailles,
and La Poite-
vine
represent
the virtuoso
pieces
in the set. The best known and
possibly
the most unusual work in all of Marais's five
publications
for bass viol is
Le Tombeau de
l'Operation
de
la
Taille. This remarkable
piece attempts
to
depict
the horrors of a
gall-bladder operation,
without benefit of
anesthesia, experienced by
Marais around 1720. A
running commentary
in the text indicates the details of the ordeal. The work has been cited
as one of the earliest
examples
of French instrumental
program music.'9
Les Relavailles follows
L'Operation
and
presumably depicts
the
joys
of
convalescence.
Marin
Marais's five collections of Pisces de Violes
represent
an ac-
complishment
of
great scope
and
originality.
Historically, they
constitute
the full
flowering
of an established French musical tradition, the
culmina-
tion of an art that had its
origins in'
the 16th
century.
In sheer numbers
the books
surpass
the
production
of
any
other composer
for the bass viol.
In musical
variety
and
range
of instrumental
expression, they
stand alone
in the contributions to the literature for that instrument, and Curt Sachs
has stated with full
justification
that Marais's books of pieces
for viols
"form one of the most
important
documents in the history of French in-
strumental music."20 Hubert le Blanc accorded Marais a niche with the
great
artists of the
period:
"Corelli and M. Michel are the Bossuets, the
19
Curt Sachs,
Our Musical Heritage, New York, 1955, p. 212
ff.;
Sachs, The
Commonwealth of Art, New York, 1946, p. 122.
L'Operation
is reprinted in Encyclo-
pidie
de la musique
et dictionnaire du
Conservatoire,
ed. by Albert Lavignac and
Lionel de la Laurencie, Paris, 1913-30, Part II, Vol. III, p. 1776.
20o
Curt Sachs,
Notes for L'Anthologie Sonore,
Vol. VIII, p.
12.
Marin Marais's Pisces de Violes 499
FCndlons,
the
Demosthenes,
and the Ciceros of
music,
whose works
joust
with the
pieces
of Marais and
Couperin,
as the divine
prose
of those
illustrious orators and
prelates
does with the
poetry
of Homer and
Virgil."21
Titon du Tillet did not consider Marais a
genius
of the first
rank,
and
in his classification of the
great spirits
of France did not
place
him in the
company
of
Corneille, Racine, Moliere,
and
Lully.
But Marais's stature
nearly
matched that of the foremost creative artists of
France,
and Titon
did not hesitate to
assign
him a
place
of honor in the second tier of im-
mortals, together
with
Clkment Marot,
Isaac de
Benserade, Philippe
Quinault,
and Michel Delalande. Titon's
judgment may
have been in-
fluenced
by
the
memory
of
Marais,
the
virtuoso;
but even on the basis
of his music
alone,
Marais seems to merit the exalted
place
in
history
accorded him
by
his
literary contemporary.
21
Le Blanc, Difense de la basse de viole, p. 3. "Corelly et M. Michel sont les
Bossuets,
les
F~ndlons,
les Dimosthines,
et les Ciceros de la musique, dont les oeuvres
font assaut avec les
pi~ces
de Marais et de
Couperin,
comme la prose divine de ces
illustres orateurs et
prilats
a la
po6sie
d'Hombre et de Virgile."