**** At Brilliant Classics, the complete violin sonatas of Heinzich Ignaz Franz Biber von Bibern, in short Biber (1644-1704), have been released, performed by the Ensemble Violini Capricciosi. Touchingly beautiful music, performed with equally touching beauty by the ensemble. Do you think you don't like baroque? Then you haven't heard Biber yet.
The sonatas were divided over 5 CDs: the first two comprise the 15 mysteries of the rosary, CDs 3 and 4, the Salzburg sonatas and number 5 contains the 4 sonatas of the Minorite monastery (Franciscan monks) in Vienna, supplemented with the early work Sonata Representativa (1669), possibly one of the first programmatic works in music history.
Biber was an Austrian composer and violinist of Bohemian descent. He was born in the current Czech town of Straz Pod Ralskem (then Wartenberg), but became kapellmeister at the famous chapel of the prince-archbishop of Olomouc (Olmütz) in Moravia, later composer, violinist and steward of the archbishop of Salzburg Maximilian Gandolph von Khuenburg. He was ennobled by Emperor Leopold I Habsburg, hence "von Bibern".
As a violinist he was considered one of the best of his time, but as a composer he also broke new ground: he mastered scordatura, a technique in which the strings of the violin, usually tuned in sol-re-la-mi (fifths), are tuned differently (for example to do-mi-la-mi or la-mi-la'-mi'). This technique allows the composer to experiment with different timbres and polyphonic effects. However, it doesn't make it easier for the performers.
Nevertheless, the Ensemble Violini Capricciosi knows how to handle it. The performance sounds, despite the virtuosity of the pieces, smooth, balanced and lively. The 15 rosary mystery sonatas gain their own colour and character through the scordatura. They are therefore not programmatic, but capture the mysteries in sound images and atmospheres. True fantasy! Moreover perfectly performed. And you even get a tenth sonata on top: "the Crucifixion", equally captured in atmospheres and images, although if one listens carefully one still hears the nails being hammered into the cross through the music. "The Crucifixion" is musically, by the way, identical to - but a tone lower composed than - Biber's "Mars of the Turks", in which the siege of Vienna (1683) by the Ottomans is depicted.
CDs 3, 4 and 5 are somewhat more playful, but no less high quality. The musicians deliver a fine performance and clearly feel the music. In the concluding Sonata Representativa in A from 1669 (incorrectly dated 1689 in the booklet), as mentioned, the programmatic route is taken. Nightingale, cuckoo, frog, hen, rooster, quail and cat leap about playfully. A nice finale to a delightful CD box. If you didn't know Biber yet, now you do. If you already knew him... you still will!
- WHO: Ensemble Violini Capricciosi | Igor Ruhadze, violin solo
- WHAT: Complete violin sonatas by Biber
- RELEASE: Brilliant Classics, no. 95291
