Marais, Marin - Premier Livre de pièces de viole, Vol. 2
Marin Marais, starting with his first book, gave us great insight into the type of ornamentation, articulation and dynamics, which were required in his music.
Marais is responsible for developing a notation system that specified every variety of ornament, bow stroke, and fingering for the viol, a system taken up by all subsequent composers for the instrument.
One intriguing ornament introduced in this book is for the bow, “the swell”. Thanks to a little letter “e” written above the note the violist is invited to perform this ornament.
Marais explained: ”The most beautiful pieces completely lose their ‘flavor’ if they are not performed in proper taste… ‘e’ indicates that one should express or swell the bow stroke by pressing either more or less on the string as the piece requires-sometimes at the beginning of the note or sometimes on the “dot” … This gives spirit to pieces without which would be too bland.”