Marin Marais: Trios Pour Le Coucher Du Roi / Ricercar Consort (2 CD)

The Pièces en Trio enable us to see a totally different side of Marin Marais’ work; he is no longer writing for himself and his own bass viol, but rather for his colleagues, the musicians of the Chambre du Roi. Marais opened the gates to a new instrumental genre in France with this collection in 1692. Ricercar, to seek, has been the underlying motto of the Ricercar Consort ever since its foundation. It was in 1985, with J. S. Bach’s Musical Offering, that the ensemble made its first concert tour, having already acquired a solid international reputation with its recordings, notably in German Baroque cantatas and instrumental music. Today, under the direction of Philippe Pierlot, the Ricercar Consort continues to explore the Baroque repertoire, from chamber music to opera and oratorio, and to enthrall music-lovers with performances that are both profound and rigorous.