François Joubert-Caillet & L'Achéron - Marais: Deuxième Livre de Pièces de Viole (2019) [CD-Rip]

Following their first volume of Marin Marais' viola da gamba suites on Ricercar, François Joubert-Caillet, and the early music ensemble L'Achéron, present a second volume on five discs, continuing their projected release of all 600 works, which were originally published in 5 books between 1686 and 1725. This thorough-going effort to record all of Marais' oeuvre will thrill devotées of his music, though it is fair to say that casual listeners may be daunted by the full list of 142 tracks in this volume alone, or question the investment of their time and money on a set intended for specialists. The small instrumental group of Joubert-Caillet and Sarah Van Oudenhove on bass viols, Philippe Grisvard on harpsichord, Miguel Henry on theorbo, Vincent Flückiger on guitar, and Angélique Mauillon on harp provide some notion of the variety of sonorities and interpretations, though to avoid the sense of sameness, these Baroque suites may be more appealing in short hearings, where the finer details of execution and the subtle differences in textures and harmonies leave a stronger impression. Other recordings of Marais' viol music can seem amorphous and indistinct due to the highly reverberant acoustics of many church venues. Thanks to the close placement of the microphones and careful mixing, though, this recording in Église Notre-Dame de Centeilles does much to separate the lines and to capture the dotted dance rhythms and accents with clarity and crispness. ~ Blair Sanderson