Marais: Bells of Sainte-Geneviève du Mont

Between the publication of his Quatrième Livre de Pièces de Violes in 1717 and the Cinquième Livre in 1725, Marin Marais offered his audience an extraordinary collection of works that make use of both the violin and the viola da gamba. These works differ significantly from his earlier gamba pieces, ranging from the instruments used to the formal structures of the works: they include a sonata inspired by Italian models, entitled "à la marésienne" (in Marais' own style), a piece based on a three-part basso ostinato reminiscent of the bells of a Parisian church, and an astonishingly monumental piece—"La Gamme"—which Marais described as an example of a little instrumental opera.