MARAIS, MARIN

born March 31, 1656, Paris died Aug. 15, 1728, Paris French composer who was also a celebrated virtuoso of the viola da gamba. He studied viola da gamba and from 1685 played in the French royal orchestra. With Pascal Colasse he directed the orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music. He published several books of viol music, a genre in which he was the acknowledged master. He was also one of the first French composers to write trio sonatas. His instrumental music often bore descriptive titles like those used by Franois Couperin. His operas included Ariane et Bacchus (1696), Alcyone (1706), the most successful, and Sml (1709).