Without a doubt, French composer Marin Marais wrote some of the greatest music of the Baroque. His works for viola da gamba are central to his output. Gambist John Dornenburg and harpsichordist Malcolm Proud are two of the finest period instrument performers of our day, and present Marais's works on this album. After many years as a San Francisco Bay Area performer, teacher, and recording artist, John Dornenburg now resides in the Cotswold region of the United Kingdom. He has made over thirty CDs of both solo and chamber music on all sizes of viola da gamba and violone, two of which feature virtuoso music for the unaccompanied bass viol. As a viola da gamba soloist he has performed in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, and across the U.S.A., including appearances at the Istanbul International Festival, Krakow Festival, Melbourne International Festival, Monadnock Festival, and Berkeley Early Music Festival. Malcolm Proud won first prize at the Edinburgh International Harpsichord Competition in 1982. He has performed at all the major Irish festivals and has toured Finland, Denmark, Holland, U.K., Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, U.S.A., Japan, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Belgium, Austria and Portugal. In 2016 he gave harpsichord recitals at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, at Fenton House in London playing the Queen's 1612 Ruckers, at the Cobbe Collection of Historical Keyboard Instruments in Hatchlands, Surrey, and at Handel House in London.
