The de Sainte Colombe family has a curious kind of discretion. They are rarely referred to by first name, although they gained fame for their virtuoso gambas. We don't know much about them because the family had its secrets. The detached father, for example, jealously hid his gamba techniques by locking himself up in a garden shed while studying. However, his student Marin Marais was so keen to
… unravel the secrets of art that he hid under the hut as a spy. The family included two daughters playing the gamba, who have been identified with difficulty as Françoise and Brigitte. Only one source reports an illegitimate son; and this while it was precisely this son who would continue the gamba tradition of his father. The son probably emigrated to England for religious reasons. The family was Protestant; but that was also usually kept silent. Le Fils continued the French gamba tradition in Edinburgh. His six Suites for solo gamba ended up in the library of Durham Cathedral. Le Fils, like Marin Marais, wrote a Tombeau in memory of his dad, which programmatically expresses how the beloved deceased crosses the Styx. At Le Fils, this Tombeau is the final piece of his Sixth Suite. (HJ) At Le Fils, this Tombeau is the final piece of his Sixth Suite. (HJ) At Le Fils, this Tombeau is the final piece of his Sixth Suite. (HJ)more
