The musical identities of many composers are inseparable from the instrument they play. Think of Chopin and the piano. This is particularly true of the baroque composers, and modern day players of these instruments experience a camaraderie that defies time and place. We think of them as family. Some of them still require super human physical or intellectual efforts to understand their works or make them sound. Others, such as Marin Marais, my companion of over four decades, speak to us simply and immediately, his voice crystal clear.