Ensemble Spirale, Marianne Muller - Marin Marais - Les Folies d'Espagne / Suite en mi / Le Labyrinthe (2006)

A veteran of Jordi Savall's Hespèrion XX and XXI, gambaist Marianne Muller makes her Zig Zag Territories debut with this disc of music by the great French Baroque composer Marin Marais. The repertoire is daunting: the ingenious and evocative Le Labyrinthe, the 32 virtuoso variations on Les Folies d'Espagne, and the 12-movement Suite in E minor from Marais' Second Book of Pièces de viole. These are works that require not just virtuosity, stamina, intense expressivity, and soulful beauty of tone. Thankfully, Muller and her Ensemble Spirale fulfill all these requirements and then some.

The disc opens with Les Folies d'Espagne, and through her nimble dexterity and endless invention, Muller holds the work together despite its enormous 18-minute length. The disc closes with Le Labyrinthe, and with her varied tone and subtle phrasing, Muller keeps the work on track through its harmonically adventurous 12-and-a-half minute length. But the best performance here is the central Suite in E minor. As are most of the Second Book's suites, this one is made up almost entirely of stylized dance forms; but through the concentration of Marais' thought and the power of his emotions, these sarabandes, gigues, and minuets are as deep and potentially moving as the best of Bach's variations on the same forms. With a nuanced tone ranging from the quietly contained to boldly assertive and a flexible bow allowing her to express herself as if she were singing, Muller delivers performances rivaling Jordi Savall's own recordings of these works. Especially impressive is her Tombeau pour M. de Sainte-Colombe, which closes the suite. Sterner and more severe than Savall's classic recording, Muller's interpretation is no less moving in its stoic dignity. The Ensemble Spirale -- gambist Sylvia Abramowicz, harpsichordist Violaine Cochard, Baroque guitarist Charles-Édouard Fantin, and theorbist Claire Antonini -- provides a wonderfully textured accompaniment for Muller's gamba. Recorded in clean, close, atmospheric sound, this disc can be highly recommended to everyone interested in the instrument, the composer, and the repertoire.