Lady Sings the Viol

The concept behind Lady Sings the Viol was a CD of “covers”: five singers, alone and together, take songs from 1300 to the present, from Piaf and Schubert to John Paul Jones and Elena Kats-Chernin.

The Marais Project ensemble
Jennifer Eriksson viola da gamba
Megan Cronin vocals
Narelle Evans vocals
Mara Kiek vocals, frame drum
Belinda Montgomery vocals
Nicole Thomson vocals
Imogen Granwal viola da gamba
Shaun Ng tenor viol
Catherine Upex viola da gamba, treble viol
Daniel Yeadon viola da gamba
Fiona Ziegler baroque violin
Tommie Andersson theorbo, classical guitar, renaissance guitar
Jess Ciampa percussion
Alex Cronin double harp
Llew Kiek gittern

Marin Marais composer
Elena Kats-Chernin composer
Franz Schubert composer
Norbert Glanzberg composer
Louis Guglielmi composer
Juan Aranés composer
John Bull composer
Stanley Myers composer
John Paul Jones composer
Pers Erik Olsson composer
Harry Warren composer

Superb arrangements of “She was beautiful” (made famous by Cleo Laine), “Chattanooga Choo Choo” and a Swedish folk fiddle tune sit beside earlier repertoire. Each song is coloured by a different mix of viols, violin, lutes, guitars, harp and percussion.

Jennifer Eriksson formed The Marais Project in 2000 to perform the complete works of Marin Marais, the great 17th-century French master of the viol. By the time of this recording the ensemble was more than 80% through that marathon. Along the way she had also pursued inventive side projects with jazz and world musicians.

The idea for Lady Sings the Viol comes from a CD of “covers” that singer, rock producer and guitarist Shane O’Mara completed several years ago with Lisa Miller. Listening to their beautifully arranged songs stimulated me to think about a recording of viola da gamba covers. Classically trained musicians do not have the same pressure to compose and play original material as do our rock and jazz colleagues. We get to virtually only play covers.

Accompanying the human voice is one of my favourite activities, so over several months I asked five singers I had worked with to record one or more songs, the arrangements of which highlighted the natural qualities of each vocalist and the viol family. The music we’ve chosen spans from the 1300s (Bryd one brere) to the late 20th century (Kats-Chernin and John Paul Jones). Some of this material we have performed many times in contexts that vary from cabaret to concert halls across rural and urban venues. The backbone of The Marais Project’s repertoire is the viola da gamba composers of the French baroque, a richly ornamented and refined sound world that is still not widely known in Australia. Yet we enjoy our excursions into other genres and have grown to love these songs in their own right.

As I am an instrumentalist it was inevitable that purely instrumental works would creep onto the track list, including my beloved Marais. By any standard the music we present here is eclectic and probably eccentric, but I would not have it any other way. The alternative is predictable and bland and that would be sad!

— Jennifer Eriksson

Reviews

This CD is a joy to listen to, challenging notions of suitable repertoire for period instruments – highly recommended!

— Anthony Linden Jones, Music Forum Magazine

A triumph of arrangement and a showcase of the talents of its participants, Lady Sings the Viol demonstrates what can be achieved if musicians and performers are willing to challenge stereotypes and push the boundaries of their ‘normal’ performance envelope.

An excellent choice for lovers of world music and the quirky, but equally likely to appeal to lovers of fine voices and baroque instruments, singing and playing beautifully.

— Mark Walker, ClassikON website

Artist

The Marais Project

The Marais Project is a celebration of music for the viola da gamba inspired by Marin Marais, the great French virtuoso viola da gamba performer and composer. Formed by Jennifer Eriksson in 2000, the ensemble’s original aim was to perform the complete viola da gamba works of Marais – a monumental task which is more than 85% complete.

Audio previews

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Tracks

Padam Padam Norbert Glanzberg 4:10
Revolving Doors Elena Kats-Chernin 3:15
La vie en rose Louis Guglielmi 3:56
Ave Maria Franz Schubert 4:24
Chacoña Juan Aranés 2:38
Italian Ground (Anonymous) 3:59
Hanacpachap cussicuinin (Anonymous) 3:56
Dorick Fantasy No. 1 John Bull 3:20
She was beautiful Stanley Myers 4:11
Muzette I & II Marin Marais 3:25
So ell encina John Paul Jones 4:09
Bryd one brere (Anonymous) 3:58
Bryd bouree (Anonymous) 2:02
Låt till Far Pers Erik Olsson 3:42
Chattanooga Choo Choo Harry Warren 2:35

Performers

The Marais Project
Jennifer Eriksson
Megan Cronin · track 5
Narelle Evans · tracks 1 and 15
Mara Kiek · vocals, frame drum · tracks 12, 13 and 15
Belinda Montgomery · tracks 3–5, 11 and 15
Nicole Thomson · tracks 7 and 9
Imogen Granwal · tracks 7–9
Shaun Ng · tenor viol · tracks 7–9
Catherine Upex · viola da gamba, treble viol · tracks 1, 3, 5–11
Daniel Yeadon · tracks 1, 11 and 15
Fiona Ziegler · baroque violin · tracks 1, 2 and 14
Tommie Andersson · theorbo, classical guitar, renaissance guitar · all except tracks 7–9, 12 and 13
Jess Ciampa · tracks 7 and 15
Alex Cronin · double harp · tracks 5, 6 and 10
Llew Kiek · gittern · tracks 12 and 13

Composers

Elena Kats-Chernin

Elena Kats-Chernin AO (born 1957) is an Australian composer whose piano rags, chamber miniatures, ballet and stage scores have become central to contemporary Australian repertoire.

Marin Marais

Marin Marais (1656–1728) was a French composer and master of the viola da gamba. His five books of Pièces de viole remain the summit of the French baroque viol repertoire.

Pers Erik Olsson

Pers Erik Olsson (1912–1983) was a Swedish folk musician and member of a famous musical family from the province of Dalarna, north west of Stockholm.

Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. In only thirty-one years he left a vast body of work, including over six hundred Lieder, and remains among the most frequently performed composers.

Juan Aranés

Juan Arañés wrote Spanish baroque tonos humanos and villancicos, issued in Rome in 1624 with guitar accompaniment. His four-voice chaconne A la vida bona is the piece still most often heard.

John Bull

John Bull (1562/63–1628) was an English composer, organist and virginalist of the late Renaissance. He was a renowned keyboard performer, and most of his surviving music is for the virginal and organ.

Norbert Glanzberg

Louis Guglielmi

Louiguy wrote the melody for Édith Piaf’s La Vie en rose and the 1950 tune Cerisier rose et pommier blanc, famous in English as Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White. He also scored nearly three dozen films.

John Paul Jones

Stanley Myers

Harry Warren

Harry Warren (1893–1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. Over six decades he wrote more than 800 songs, many of which became lasting standards of the Hollywood musical.

Where to listen

Lady Sings the Viol is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.

Lady Sings the Viol is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.

Product details

Catalogue number: MCD 481
List price: $25.00 AUD
Total playing time: 53 minutes 40 seconds
Producer: Llew Kiek
Recording Engineer: Chris Doherty
Mastering Engineer: Andrew Edgson
Venue: EMI Studios 301
Release date: 1 Feb 2013
Categories: Classical, Early music
Genres: Early Music, Baroque, Vocal & Opera
Barcode: EAN 9314574048124

Related recordings

Exquisite Harmonies

Exquisite Harmonies features works for viola da gamba and harpsichord, and several harpsichord solos, largely from the French Baroque. The exceptions are Telemann, Abel and Australian composer Troy Russell. A nice treat is an improvised harpsichord fantasia in the style of Telemann.