Vivien Schweitzer on Marin Marais

"A memorable scene in Alain Corneau’s film 'Tous les Matins du Monde' shows Marin Marais eavesdropping while Jean de Sainte-Colombe, a reclusive 17th-century musician, practices the viola da gamba. Cinematic license aside, Marais was reportedly a fast learner and, after studying with Sainte-Colombe, became one of the first French players to achieve fame as a viol soloist. Marais published five books of music for viol and continuo between 1686 and 1725. The harpsichordist Skip Sempé accompanies the violists da gamba Josh Cheatham and Julien Léonard in selections from Marais’s third and fifth books on this disc from Paradizo, Mr. Sempé’s Renaissance and Baroque music label. The two viol players reveal their instruments’ dark-hued, soulful timbres. … The disc also includes a songful performance of Marais’s somber Sarabande for Two Viols in D minor from Book 1. But the highlight is the performance of a Suite in G from Marais’s Books 3 and 5, which includes a vigorous interpretation of the 'Allemande la Magnifique et Double'; a lithe Courante, in which the viol sings over the harpsichord continuo; a dynamic 'Gigue la Précieuse'; and a joyous Chaconne" ("Classical Recordings," New York Times, 4/6/09).