MARAIS, MARIN  BIOGRAPHY

Marin Marais, player of the viola da gamba and pupil of Sainte-Colombe, has won much wider recent fame through the cinema. In his own time he was accounted the principal virtuoso of his time on the instrument, for which he wrote a number of compositions. He studied composition with Lully and as a member of the French royal musical establishment performed with him.

Instrumental Music

The instrumental music of Marais consists chiefly of his various collections of pieces for one or more viols, which include the now well known Variations on Les folies d'Espagne (La Follia).

Operas

The four operas of Marais were written under the influence of Lully and enjoyed contemporary success.