La Nébuleuse / Gabriel Rignol

Lucile Boulanger, viola da gamba
Gabriel Rignol, theorbo

While Marin Marais—the great master of the viola da gamba—and his mysterious teacher, Le Sieur de Sainte Colombe, need no introduction, the same cannot be said of their predecessors, who remain unjustly overlooked. Here, Lucile Boulanger and Gabriel Rignol invite us to rediscover Nicolas Hotman, an eminent violist and theorbo player active as early as the 1630s. As the teacher of Sainte Colombe and Demachy, Hotman (also known as Hauttemant) is now recognized as the true founding father of the great French viola da gamba school.

With their characteristic elegance, these two virtuosos trace this unique lineage: from the shared roots of their instruments to the music of the young Marais, whose sublime *Premier Livre* (1686) is still far too rarely performed in concert.