Ornamentation in Marin Marais' Pieces de Viole

Abstract

Ornamentation In Marin Marais’ Pièces de Viole This thesis sets out to uncover the ornamentation practices of French violist-composer Marin Marais (1656–1728). Marais wrote almost nothing about the execution of his ornaments in his music; in the avertissement of his first book of viol pieces, Pièces à une et à deux violes (Paris, 1686), he listed all the ornaments and their corresponding symbols, but provided no realisations and little explanation of how they are to be performed. While a historical violist could simply visit the master to learn how to properly perform his ornaments, the modern performer has little choice but to consult other historical musical works and treatises to gain a better understanding of the subject. In this thesis, I argue that the ornamentation practices in Marais’ music have largely been misunderstood because these historical works have not been properly examined. This study begins with a brief historical background of Marais, underpinning his significance as a major composer of the French Baroque era, thus showing that his style of ornamentation can be regarded as one of the prevailing methods of the day. The study then focuses on the modern writings that deal with issues that are relevant to Marais’ music, demonstrating how modern writers have sometimes overlooked historical sources, and how this results in their misunderstanding of Marais’ ornamentation practices. Lastly, the practices of historical violists and writers are analysed. The findings of this study offer a range of interpretive possibilities for Marais’ ornaments such as the tremblement, batement, port de voix, coulé de doigt and pincé or flatement. This information provides a basis on which modern performers will be able to apply appropriate historical ornamentation in performing the music of Marais and his contemporaries today. Keywords: France, French, Baroque, viol, viola da gamba, ornamentation, Marin Marais.