Sonnerie de Sainte-Geneviève du Mont de Paris
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Sonnerie de Ste-Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris, "The Bells of St. Genevieve" in English, is a work by Marin Marais written in 1723 for viol, violin and harpsichord with basso continuo. It can be considered a passacaglia or a chaconne, with a repeating D, F, E bass line. Being a student of Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe, it is perhaps Marais' most famous composition that explores the various techniques of the viol.
The work begins with 4 measures of the bass line played by the continuo and viol, then, on the 5th measure the violin takes over the melody. Throughout the piece, the violin and viol take turns with the melody.
The viol part is of great difficulty because of Marais's mastery of that instrument. The centerpiece is not the melody, the violin, but the viol. His work can be thought of as something to showcase the violist's skill, despite that it does not always have the melody.
The piece also exists in a version for solo double bass, having been arranged by Norman Ludwin for Ludwin Music. An electronic version on a Fairlight synthesizer was used in the soundtrack of the 1982 film "Liquid Sky".
External links
- Free scores by Sonnerie de Ste-Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
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