Marais

Pieces de viole, Livre 4: Parts 2 and 3 — Le labyrinthe: Suite d'un goiit etranger. Pieces de viole, Livre 4 — Suite: Le badinage Rolf Lislevand, Xavier Diaz-Latorre theos Xavier Diaz-Latorre gtr Pierre Hantai hpd Andrew Lawrence-King hp Pedro Estevan pert Philippe Pierlot bass viol/ Jordi Savall bass viol Alia Vox 0 IP AVSA9851 (103' • DDD/DSD) Marais

Pieces de viole — Livre 2, Part 1: Couplets de folies: Les folies d'Espagne; Suite in E minor; Livre 4, Parts 2 and 3 — Le labyrinthe: Suite d'un goilt etranger Ensemble Spirale (Sylvia Abramowicz va da gamba Violaine Cochard clay Charles-Edouard Fantin bq gtr Claire Antoni theo)/ Marianne Muller va da gamba Zig Zag Territoires ZZT060801 (61' • ODD) The essence of Marais: Jordi Savall completes a striking musical odyssey

Jordi Savall writes with rare candour in the booklet to his release, "ANIS MO St, marking Marin Marais's 350th anniversary, about his experience of this music and of playing the viol. Savall recorded 12 of the 33 pieces of the Suite d'un gait etranger in 1977 and several for the soundtrack of the film Tons les matins du monde. He . records it in its entirety here, convinced that it, more than any other, "holds the true essence and the fullest expression of the art of Mann Marais".

Savall is a different player today, more knowledgeable and experienced. Judging from these performances, he has mellowed. There are younger players, many of them trained by Sayan, who are already building on his legacy, bringing fresh minds to Marais's music, among them Paolo Pandolfo and Marianne Muller. Marais's epic Labyrinthe illustrates the point. Savall knows it so well and seems to play according to a strategy, like a marathon runner. Yet it is Muller who most successfully evokes a sense of adventure: in her imaginative performance she explores the music as it unfolds, just as one would a labyrinth. But in the Suite d'zin goat etranger Savall's command of the viol cannot be faulted. His interpretation of Marais's ornamentation in movements such as "La reveuse" and elsewhere his decision to disregard some of Marais's note values (look no further than the opening "Marche tartare") and printed annotations — particularly the mile's and dynamics — will disappoint only those who are familiar with the partbooks.

Listeners may, however, note with dismay the unduly dry sound of the solo viol in this recording, in contrast to the more resonant continuo instruments (listen, for example, to the rich effects created by the gypsy tambourine in the "Feste champëtre" and the snapped notes from the theorbo in the "Muzette", not to mention the guitar effects in "La sauterelle" and the wonderfully collaborative continuo viol playing overall). They distract and divert. Yet elsewhere, in the fleeting "Tourbillon", the shortbreathed "Allemande l'asmatique", "L'arabesque" and the concluding "Badinage", Savall's silvery, ephemeral tone undeniably suits the music. We must be grateful to him for recording this remarkable musical odyssey.

Julie Anne Sadie