Marais: Trois suites en trio

Caution: hidden gem! Far less renowned than the suites for viol, Marin Marais’s Pièces en trio, first published in 1692, are very delicate and refined works directly inspired from the trio sonatas composed by Lully for Louis the Fourteenth’s “Grand Coucher”, compositions devoted to the relaxation before the king retired to bed. Despite their light and pleasant aspect, they reveal the amazing inventiveness of Marais. It is exquisitely performed by Ensemble Amalia, who recorded only two albums in its short career, but included the elite of French baroque musicians, notably Pascal Monteilhet and Florence Malgoire, who both passed recently, and to whom this re-issue is an homage.