Leader, NORRIS STANLEY
Conductor,JOHAN HOCK
Marin Marais, the contemporary of Lully, was born in Paris in 1656 and died there in 1728. At an early age he became a member of the choir of Sainte-Chapelle and there he learnt to play the bass viol. At the age of twenty-nine he was appointed soloist in the Royal Band, and also became a member of the orchestra of the Academie Royale de Musique. During this period he came into contact with Lully, who gave him some lessons in composition. Marais appears to have devoted a great deal of time to writing music for the theatre and opera, and he also did a great deal of teaching. He wrote the music for the play, Ariane and Bacchus, which was produced in 1697.