Between the publication of the Second Book in 1701 and that of the Third Book, ten years went by, during which Marais established himself as a composer of tragédies lyriques. In the meantime, however, a number of young viol players, some of whom had been his pupils, had just published their first collections of pièces de viole. Marais therefore had to reaffirm his position as the reigning master of the genre, a mission accomplished to perfection with this new opus, in which he strove to offer his public easier pieces alongside others that of a more demanding nature, in order to ‘satisfy those who are more advanced upon the viol’. His style had changed too: here, character pieces form an increasingly important complement to the traditional suites.

‘The playing is alive to subtle phrasings and imitative counterpoint’ – BBC Music Magazine

‘L’Achéron’s playing style cements the [large-scale] impression: majestic and amorous of tone, with a soft-edged, ample yet transparent-textured sound that’s humanised further through little tugs and pushes of metre and hairpin dynamic bulges’ – Gramophone