Suite from Alcyone 
Marin Marais
Born: May 31, 1656, Paris, France
Died: August 15, 1728, Paris, France
Year Composed: 1705
Length: c. 10 minutes 
World Premiere: February 1706, Paris, France (full opera)
Last ISO Performance: This is the ISO’s first performance of this piece
Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo, basso continuo, strings 

Marin Marais was a Parisian viola de gamba virtuoso born to an ignoble family. He enrolled at the St. Germain-l’Auxerrois school where he received a robust musical education and his gamba playing was encouraged. By 1675, Marin Marais was performing regularly with the Paris Opera. Shortly after, Marais was hired at the esteemed Royal Orchestra where he also received composition lessons from Jean-Baptiste Lully. Seeing his incredible talent, Lully eagerly commissioned Marais to write for the stage. Marais composed four operas, including Alcyone, in addition to hundreds of small-ensemble and solo works for viola de gamba. 

Alcyone is a French setting of the classical Greek myth. The plot includes (as all good operas do) a love triangle, revenge, and the triumph of good over evil. Alcyone is a notable example of tragédie en musique—a style of opera accredited to Jean-Baptiste Lully. These operas generally have five acts and, counterintuitively, happy endings. Written to proselytize the nobility of contemporary royals, these operas tend to have a regal, bouncing musical quality and end with a resolution aimed to please the audience. 

Alcyone is primarily scored for strings and basso continuo with additional parts for double reeds and percussion. Its first performance was in Paris, 1706 and received positive reviews. Alcyone is most famous for its depiction of a tumultuous storm, the “Tempest Scene,” in the penultimate act. Here, Alcyone is lulled to sleep in the temple of Juno and has a visceral nightmare about her love, Ceyx, perishing at sea. The Chaconne comes from Act 5 and is an instrumental portion of the opera’s finale, as the lovers reunite. A relief after such turbulence! Its opening section rings purely major, expressing our protagonists’ solace. A short, chattery violin duo symbolizes Alcyone and Ceyx as they embrace. The middle section of the Chaconne changes harmonies: the grim minor mode illustrates the couple recalling their dramatic ordeal. The Chaconne ends with a final retelling of the opening, major-key theme as the curtain closes on our reunited lovers.