Marin Marais  Pièces en trio Virgin Veritas 61365

Available only through the artists in the U.S.   To purchase, email Musica Pacifica at info@musicapacifica.org.  

CD 1  Suite in G minor    Gigue Suite in B flat major Les Contrefaiseurs  Suite in G minor   Sarabande Suite in B flat major  Suite in D major   Prelude   Rigaudon   Bransle de village

CD 2 Suite in C major Suite in D minor Suite in C major Suite in C minor Suite in E minor

 

" . . . ravishingly beautiful . . .warm, expressive, and intensely alive to every nuance, this is playing to ravish the senses . . ."
- Fanfare Magazine, January/February 1998

"* * * * * - 5 stars" - Highest rating.   "By turns languorous and affectful and irresistibly sparkling, . . . their elegant, stylish, and thankfully unmannered performances are all one could wish."
- Goldberg Magazine (Spain), Spring 1998

CD of the Month - September, 1997
"This is the creme de la creme of the West Coast early music scene . . . a world-class performance:  light, relaxed and heartily refreshing."
 - Alte Musik Aktuell, Regensburg, Germany

"This splendid Bay Area-based group, members of which perform with Philharmonia . . . here explore Marais' output for [two treble instruments and continuo]. . . The sound is frequently enchanting.  And Musica Pacifica constantly reaffirms the strength of the Bay Area early music movement. The recording . . . is without blemish."
- San Francisco Examiner, May 22, 1998

"* * * * * - 5 stars" - Highest rating.  "Musica Pacifica has carefully considered how to make this music attractive for a modern audience . . . in this engaging arrangement.  There is a real sparkle both in these performances and in the way they have been recorded."
- Classic CD, November 1997

Best New Classical Release, Gramophone Magazine, March 1998
Chosen by radio station KDFC (San Francisco) - "Local early music stars shine."

"Musica Pacifica's ensemble playing is extremely well-polished and impressively precise--nimble but also graceful, perfectly matched in timbre, and beautifully phrased.  Judith Linsenberg is simply ravishing on recorder.  Her passagework is superb, technically flawless, but never lifeless, and the slow movements are lusciously indulgent, without being cloying.  Gonzalo Ruiz' oboe playing is incredibly expressive, almost vocal at times, but also capable of an easy agility that sounds almost effortless.  Elizabeth Blumenstock has a rich, warm, sound, with a lightness and grace that always 'breathes' with the wind players, and flawless intonation.
        Musica Pacifica's recording of the Pieces en trio is the quintessence of the French Baroque--two and a quarter hours of pure pleasure!"
- Boston Early Music News, May 1998

"The playing is stylish and assured, full of mordant touches."
 - Early Music, August 1997

"The performances have a lovely relaxed feel about them, with beautifully expressive playing from all."
 - Early Music Review, July 1997

 " . . . superb performances by some of the finest West Coast period instrumentalists around . . . inspired choice of instruments . . . the variety of scoring, combined with the obvious "good vibes" shared by all make for a delightful listening experience."
- Continuo Magazine, October 1997