Versailles, August 14, 1727: Instead of the hoped-for heir to the throne, the French Queen Maria Leszczyńska gives birth to twin sisters as the first children of her young marriage to King Louis XV. The firstborn is baptized Marie Louise Elisabeth, and her sister, born a few minutes later, is named Anne Henriette, later Madame Henriette de France. Her seventeen-year-old father is said to have exclaimed after their births: "I disait impuissant and j'ai fait double coup!" When the two princesses were exactly one year old, Marin Marais, one of the two grand masters of the viol, as the viola da gamba is called in France, dies.

This album is intended to inspire you with the fascinating personality of Princess Anne Henriette of France: a young woman who, in her short life and almost 300 years later, still attracts attention with her appearance and skill.

At a time when women were rarely allowed to shine through anything other than their looks, she was a virtuoso on the viola da gamba and highly respected for her art, even by other important figures of her time. Her teacher, Jean Baptiste Forqueray, dedicated his Pièces de Viole to her in 1747, for example, and the composer and gambist Louis de Caix d'Hervelois also dedicated the fifth of his gamba books to the gifted princess.

Regarding this program selection, it should be noted that the artist Maddalena del Gobbo's efforts were to convey an overall picture of the short life of Madame Henriette (as she was also called). Therefore, the program does not exclusively include the pieces dedicated to her, but rather provides a snapshot of her era, perhaps a mood picture, and tells her life story as I imagine it, portraying her short life in music.