Marais, M: Pièces de viole, Book II: Les Folies d'Espagne (Couplets de Folies)

“The most substantial pieces here are the set of variations of La folia, and the Tombeau pour M-deSte Colombe in memory of Marais's mentor. His idiom embodies a paradox that's peculiarly French, in that it demands a very high technical standard, yet its proper expression requires the utmost restraint. The young Finnish viol-player, Markku Luolajan-Mikkola, is a founder-member of Phantasm. Here he holds his own with elegance and reserve, although in the slower pieces one might have wished for more rhythmic flexibility. The continuo section consists of another viol-player, and a theorbo or harpsichord (though in the variations on La folia, the two are combined). This works well for the most part, though the high partials of the harpsichord tend to drown the viols: the lute is far less obtrusive.
The problem of balance also intrudes when the soloist is in the lower range. But as an introduction to Marais's art this is hard to fault – try his Pavan 'in the style of the bygone lute composers': a real treat.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Garth Knox, more usually renowned as a viola player, gives an enticingly mixed programme of music for his instrument’s sweet-voiced cousin, the viola d’amore, with and without Agnès Vesterman’s expressive cello. He opens with his own duo, Malor me bat (2004), a colourful fantasy based on a 15th-century song. Two contemporary Swiss pieces for viola d’amore alone explore unusual tunings of its seven bowed and seven resonating strings. Roland Moser’s Manners of Speaking (2006) is full of harmonics and other colouristic effects, while Klaus Huber’s ... Plainte... (1990), for Luigi Nono, is all isolated but intense gesture. Tobias Hume’s A Pavin (1605) weaves a melancholic spell, Attilio Ariosti’s Prima Lezione (1720) has rococo elegance and Knox’s version of Marin Marais’s Les Folies d’Espagne is exhilaratingly climactic.” Sunday Times, 8th June 2008 ***

“Quite simply one of the most outstandingly magical discs I have heard. From the very first notes one is totally captivated by the fantastic richness of the sound produced by the combination of the viola d'amore and the cello.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2008

“This is quite simply an outstandingly magical disc. From the very first notes one is totally captivated by the fantastic richness of the sound produced by the combination of the viola d'amore and the cello. The viola's sound is precisely described by Paul Griffiths in his notes when he writes of a 'rainbow resonance' – the phrase describes the shimmering harmonic aura created around the music by the freely resonating sympathetic strings. And it traverses, as this recording amply demonstrates, time as well as acoustical space: Knox's transcriptions of Marais and Hume, not to mention of traditional melodies ('Celtic Dance/I once loved a lass/Jig') work marvellously, making the two instruments merge into some kind of enormously expanded viola da gamba.
The contemporary works, with the exception of Knox's own inevitably idiomatic fantasy on 'Malor me bat', might seem initially to work against this resonant universe built on the harmonic series, but in fact they are all carefully written with the instrument's possibilities in mind. Klaus Huber's …Plainte… is dedicated to Luigi Nono, and it transfers something of the Italian's fragmented late sound world very successfully to solo viola d'amore, making use in the process of special tunings (three strings are tuned in third-tones). The stunning sound of this remarkable CD will disappoint nobody.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

‘Marais’ music is full of interest, and the strong contrasting characters of individual movements are well served by The Purcell Quartet’ (Which CD)

“in her imaginative performance she explores the music as it unfolds, just as one would a labyrinth.” Julie Anne Sadie, Gramophone Magazine, March 07

“Muller is unfazed by the intricately embellished lines of the more virtuosic movements…. I was much taken with Muller's beautiful (and beautifully selective) use of vibrato.” The Strad