The Marais Project Ensemble
Biography The Marais Project Ensemble
The Marais Project
is a celebration of music for the viola da gamba inspired by Marin Marais, the great French virtuoso viola da gamba performer and composer. Formed by Jennifer Eriksson in 2000, in 2019 the ensemble celebrated its first twenty years with the release of our seventh CD, “The Garden Party.” The ensemble’s original aim was to perform the complete works of Marais – a monumental task which is more than 85% complete. However, over the years we have extended our repertoire beyond the French baroque to include folk music, mediaeval and renaissance repertoire as well as commissioning and recording new Australian works. The Marais Project is the 2019-20 Ensemble in Residence at Fine Music 102.5.
Past and current artists include: Jennifer Eriksson, Catherine Upex, Leif Henrikson, Tommie Andersson, Fiona Ziegler; Belinda Montgomery; Koen van Stade, Matthew Bruce, Daniel Yeadon, Mikaela Oberg, Shaun Ng, Melissa Farrow, Susie Bishop, Elsen Price, Steve Elphick, Emily-Rose Šárkova, Anna Sandstrom, Paul Cutlan, David Hidden, Raymond Harvey, Josie Ryan, Pascal Herrington and Anthony Abouhamad.
Collaborators: The Muffat Collective, The Early Dance Consort, “Mara!, jazz pianist and composer Kevin Hunt, Elysian Fields and Sydney Chamber Choir. Composers: Stephen Yates, Rosalind Page, Emily-Rose Šárkova, Dan Walker, Tommie Andersson, Paul Cutlan, Matt McMahon, Llew and Mara Kiek, Emily-Rose Šárkova and Matthew Perry.
Jenny Eriksson
completed her initial musical studies at the then NSW State Conservatorium of Music studying music education and cello with Barbara Woolley. Her first viola da gamba lessons were undertaken with Catherine Finnis in Sydney. She subsequently studied the viola da gamba with Jaap ter Linden at the Rotterdam Conservatorium for three years where she completed post-graduate studies in baroque music. She formed The Marais Project in 2000. Jennifer also directs the Musica Viva in Schools ensemble, Sounds Baroque. She was a founding member of the viol consort, “Seaven Teares” and in collaboration with renowned jazz musicians Matt McMahon and Matt Keegan, she assembled “Elysian Fields”, Australia’s only electric viola da gamba group, in 2015.
Since returning to Australia from Australia in 1988 Jennifer has performed with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Victorian State Opera Orchestra, Salút Baroque, Opera Australia, the Renaissance Players, The Early Dance Consort, The Sydney Consort, Sydney Chamber Choir, The Parsons Affayre and numerous other ensembles.
Jennifer created The Marais Project with the aim of performing the complete works of the French baroque viola da gamba virtuoso, Marin Marais, a task that is more than 85% completed. As well as presenting an annual concert series, The Marais Project has performed live on several occasions for the ABC’s “Sunday Live” broadcasts, Radio National’s “The Music Show” and recorded studio concerts for ABC Classic FM. The ensemble released its first CD, “Viol Dreaming”, in October 2007. Their second CD “Love Reconciled” came out in 2010 to critical acclaim. In 2012 The Marais Project and Mara! produced a joint CD, “Mara! meets Marais”. 2013 saw the release of “Lady Sings the Viol”, a unique compilation of Jenny bio page b“covers” of songs from the 1300 to the present day. In 2015 The Marais Project released its 5th CD, “Smörgåsbord!” which explores Jennifer and lutenist Tommie Andersson’s Swedish heritage.
In addition to her focus on the early music repertoire, Jenny has commissioned more than 20 new Australian works for the viola da gamba including an Australian first work for viol consort and bass clarinet composed by Paul Cutlan and several new works for the electric viola da gamba by jazz composers Matt McMahon, Matt Keegan and Siebe Pogson.
Jenny was invited to take up a prestigious Winter Residency at Banff Arts Centre, Canada in early 2013. Her other ensemble, “Sounds Baroque” has previously been in residence at Bundanon Trust on the New South Wales’ south coast. During 2014 she was a soloist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in that country’s first ever complete performance of Bach’s St John Passion. In 2015 Jenny toured The Marais Project to the New Zealand International Early Music Festival in Dunedin.
Elysian Fields
is one of the world’s few electric viola da gamba ensembles. It was formed by Jenny Eriksson, Matt Keegan and Matt McMahon in 2015. In late 2018, we released our first CD, “What should I say”, on the MOVE Records label.
The band is an ongoing experiment in creating new improvised and composed repertoire for the electric viola da gamba – of which Eriksson is believed to be the only Australian exponent. The backbone of Elysian Field’s set list consists of original works written specifically for the line-up by Matt McMahon, Matt Keegan, Jenny Eriksson and bassist, Siebe Pogson. The band’s covers range widely from Eriksson’s unique arrangements of several songs by Marin Marais to charts and folk songs reflecting Jenny’s Scandinavian heritage from the likes of Swedish jazz/fusion guitarist, Mats Norrefalk, e.s.t. and Norwegian pianist/composer, Jan Gunnar Hoff.
Elysian Field’s influences are as broad as its member’s eclectic interests. We love: e.s.t., Herbie Hancock, Jaco Pastorius, Tord Gustavson, Victor Wooten, Mats Norrefalk, Jean-Luc Ponty, Weather Report, Mara!, Irish, Indian and Swedish folk song, Jordi Savall, Marin Marais, John McLaughlin, Steve Hunter, Pat Metheny, Jan Gunnar Hoff and Joni Mitchell.
