The fact that the virtuoso violin sonatas from 1681, in contrast to the Mystery Sonatas, still receive little attention in today's concert repertoire is astonishing given the unbridled musical inventiveness of this music. Gunar Letzbor and Ars Antiqua Austria emphasise this aspect in their first recording of this collection from 1994 with a varied continuo line-up.

Of course, Gunar Letzbor and his musicians from Ars Antiqua Austria are completely peace-loving in nature, and certainly the composers of the musical battle paintings presented here, whether they are of a general nature or actually depictions of historical battles, were not musical warmongers either. Rather, we should understand Letzbor and his ensemble here as musical war correspondents, then listening to these equally charming and masterful battaglia offers unadulterated listening pleasure, in which there can really only be winners.

Persuasive performances that exhibit the true essence of the old trumpet.

From the opening strains of Stradella's wonderfully invigorating Sonata for solo trumpet (placed midway between a richly scored accompaniment of two string choirs), it is immediately apparent how the limitations of the natural trumpet provide it with the freedom to produce its own special range of tonal characteristics. This is the canvas Steele-Perkins has been championing for years: the scope in colour, articulation and subtle timbral nuance which characterize 'natural' trumpet playing at its most honest—in other words without all the modern paraphernalia which may make the instrument easier to play but destroys the capacity for expressive variety.

This is, then, a notable release, not least because there are so few current recordings of this type for solo natural trumpet (let alone for the slide trumpet whose mellow tones grace the Handel selection of 'airs' at the end of the disc). Steele-Perkins figured prominently on a Hyperion disc entitled ''Italian Baroque Trumpet Music'' recorded in 1987, though this latest project reveals more of the fibrous quality of the natural trumpet, sounding especially wholesome on David Edwards's copy of a 1667 instrument by Simon Beale of London. The accompaniment, too, is altogether more cultivated and immediate from Tafelmusik. A comparison of the Stradella sonata (the only work common to both discs) shows a greater resonance in the earlier recording but less vitality overall, and also less of a distinction between the two string groups.

Of the other works, the Biber sonatas are a joy (again, Steele-Perkins has already recorded them for Hyperion—1/86, nla—but the same observations apply here as with Stradella) and the Telemann Concerto for trumpet and two oboes is a paragon of homogeneity between instruments, which in their original form have more in common than is usually supposed. John Thiessen makes a fine impression as the co-principal in the two-trumpet works and there is a pleasing blend here too. The work described as Albinoni's Concerto for trumpet and three oboes is spurious (published erroneously as such by Sikorski in 1966) and sounds remarkably German to my ears. 'Attrib.' at the very least, please. A tiny gripe in an otherwise excellent release. I am not aware of a solo recording at present which exhibits so persuasively or musically the true essence of the old trumpet.

-- Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Gramophone [4/1995]

Gustav Leonhardt has chosen here two works of outstanding originality. From 1696 Fransisco Valls was choirmaster at Barcelona Cathedral, retiring from the post in 1726. His Missa Scala Aretina was composed in 1702 for performance in the Cathedral but became something of a cause celebre further afield on account of a breach of strict harmonic etiquette in the Gloria. Fellow musicians were scandalized by Valls's use of an unprepared dissonance and the composer was eventually obliged to defend himself in his theoretical treatise, Mapa armonico. The Mass is a richly scored piece disposed into four distinct sound bodies or choirs. One of these contains the solo voices (soprano, alto, tenor), two others are larger vocal ensembles of different sizes while the fourth is instrumental, consisting of strings with additional oboes, trumpets and a colourful continuo group including harp. Leonhardt brings a vital sense of occasion to the performance, injecting it with passion and evidently revelling in its rich and varied sonorities. But he is not always sufficiently well supported by the Netherlands Bach Society Choir which turns in rather rough and not always ready singing. But even so there is a spontaneity which makes considerable appeal and one is left with the feeling, by no means unwelcome, that this is foremost a performance and only secondarily a recording.

Biber's F minor Requiem was written exactly a decade earlier than Valls's Mass. It is one of two such surviving works from his pen and here receives its second recording; the earlier one, by Nikolaus Harnoncourt was made in 1967 and has long been unavailable (Telefunken, 3/70). The very flatness of this minor key at once points-up the striking contrast which exists between this melancholy work and its more robust, extrovert Spanish companion on disc. Biber's fervent Requiem falls into five main sections, an Introit and Kyrie, Dies irae, Offer-torium, Sanctus and, lastly Agnus Dei and Communion. The ''Dies irae'' is the most extended of these and allows for several beautifully wrought passages for the soloists (SSATB). But the ''Offertorium'' is hardly less expressive and here Biber makes an additional contrast by casting the movement in C minor; his lean and despairing harmonies are especially arresting in this section conjuring up vivid images of man's frail condition and mortality. Leonhardt is similarly responsive to text and music as he was in the Valls, but Biber occupies stylistic territory closer to home. There is a fluency in the performance of the Requiem which is perhaps less evident in the Missa Scala Aretina, and the singers too, seem more secure.

In short, this is a fascinating disc containing pieces of starkly contrasting outlook. The Valls is full of little, and not so little, harmonic surprises which tease the senses, the Biber a contemplative, profound work of dark and serene beauty. Recorded sound is appropriately spacious and the booklet contains an informative essay with texts and translations.'

-- Nicholas Anderson, Gramophone [8/1993]

The glowing incandescence of Austrian mid-baroque instrumental music could hardly be more effectively demonstrated than in the choice of repertoire and the performances on this disc. The harmonically sumptuous and tonally exotic programme is shared between the Vienna court musician, Schmelzer, and his younger Bohemian contemporary, Biber. . . . The menu has been thoughtfully chosen, capitalizing upon the vivid contrasts that exist at the two extremes, between the scintillating trumpet-dominated pieces by Biber, on the one hand, and Schmelzer’s affecting Sonata sopra la morte Ferdinand III on the other. Emperor Ferdinand was Schmelzer’s musically gifted employer, and his death in 1657 prompted . . . this outstandingly beautiful piece . . . the most touching of Schmelzer’s three elegiac pieces assembled here, all of which however are harmonically distinctive and of sustained interest. . . . The Freiburg musicians seem to revel in the wonderfully varied sonorities inherent in Biber’s consort textures, responding sympathetically to the composer’s colourfully imaginative tonal palette. The sonatas with trumpet are likely to make instant appeal but it is the more sorrowful utterances of Schmelzer which make a deeper impression on my senses. A fine release. -- Nicholas Anderson, Gramophone

Praise cannot be too high for Cordaria. For me this is quite simply the best recording of this music I have ever heard... Their blend, sensitivity and recorded balance are always immaculate, beautiful and at times tear-jerking. Highly recommended.

The ‘Mystery Sonatas’ consist of 15 short suites for violin and continuo whose inspiration lies in the so-called 15 mysteries of the Virgin Mary; effectively 15 meditations which are sometimes directly programmatic and sometimes more elusive. They divide into three groups of five. The Joyful Mysteries are based on episodes in Jesus’s early life, the Nativity for example; the middle group are the Sorrowful Mysteries like ‘The Crown of Thorns’ etc; and the final group are the Glorious Mysteries which continue the story from the Resurrection to the Assumption and then to the Coronation of the Virgin. The whole work is capped off by a grand unaccompanied Passacaglia for Violin. The whole sequence lasts about two hours and a quarter and is therefore on two discs. Sadly the middle group of five has had to be divided, with the last one, the Crucifixion, on the second disc.

Biber composed these works for Archbishop Max Gandolph. Peter Holman, who I am delighted to find writing programme notes for this disc as he has a proven track record of expertise in the field of 17th Century instrumental music, tells us that "Biber pointed out in his dedication that Max Gandolph was strongly in favour of the Rosary in Salzburg". Also we learn that "the cycle was used in the traditional Rosary devotions in September and October … and the faithful as they walked in procession would have listened to appropriate biblical passages and commentaries and to Biber’s music whilst meditating of their Rosaries". The manuscript also contains fifteen elegant roundels, which were relevant to the subject of each sonata. Nine of these have been reprinted in black and white and are scattered around the booklet. There is also a musical quotation from the Sonata XI and the violin tunings needed for each sonata are given. Some are quite extraordinary. But what makes these sonatas virtuoso compositions for the performer and (I am sure for the composer) is that once re-tuned the notation remains as usual, to correspond with the continuo harmony. This technique is called Scordatura and many violinists dread it. Walter Reiter appears undaunted and unflappable, more so than any other player I have ever heard. The reason for some of these tunings is quite obvious and indeed programmatic. For example the beautiful ‘Ascension’ sonata has a C major tuning, g-c-g-d. Contrast that with the 9th Sonata ‘Jesus carries his own cross’ in A minor, tuned to straining point c-e-a-e in other words raised a 4th giving a rather strangled effect.

Apart from these unique sets of tunings there are other programmatic elements in the music. The ‘Resurrection’ sonata is the only one in one continuous and untitled movement. It begins in total stillness - the dawn of Easter Morning. The free recitativic tempo gradually builds so that in the brightness of the morning sun [c.2’15"] the empty tomb is displayed. Then enters, at first quietly, the Easter Chorale melody ‘Surrexit Christus Hodie’. Incidentally the tuning in this sonata is so odd that the effect is literally unearthly. In the ‘Ascension’ sonata (number 12) the violinist is expected with his terrifically difficult double stoppings to imitate a choir of trumpets in the ‘Aria tubicinium’ [track 7].

In the ‘Crucifixion’ sonata the rending of the veil over ‘the holy of holies’ is vividly portrayed (track 4).

Most of the sonatas have several movements and several have dance titles. Some have Aria’s followed by Variations. Dances include ‘Allmans’ and ‘Correntes’ which are slipped curiously into movements like ‘The Visitation’ sonata and the ‘Nativity’ sonata. Presumably on the grounds of ‘why should the devil have the best tunes?’

Praise cannot be too high for Cordaria. For me this is quite simply the best recording of this music I have ever heard. Credit should go of course to Walter Reiter. Timothy Roberts on the chamber organ or harpsichord and Elizabeth Kenny on the theorbo along with Joanna Levine on the gamba with Frances Kelly, a very experienced influence, on the harp and Mark Levey on a Lirone make a ‘dream team’.

Their blend, sensitivity and recorded balance are always immaculate, beautiful and at times tear-jerking. Highly recommended.

-- Gary Higginson, MusicWeb International

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Meret Lüthi, an inspiring and charismatic violinist from Berne, knows how to cast a musical and verbal spell over her fellow musicians and the audience. Since 2008, she has been shaping Bern’s internationally active Orchestra for Early Music, Les Passions de l' me, with her unmistakable signature as artistic director, dramaturge and concertmaster. She appears with her orchestra at the Lucerne Festival, the Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, the Schwetzinger Festspiele and the Musikfest Stuttgart. She performs with artists such as Dorothee Oberlinger, Simone Kermes, Nuria Rial and Kristian Bezuidenhout. Meret Lüthi received her training in her hometown with the violinists Monika Urbaniak-Lisik and Eva Zurbrügg and obtained both teaching and concert diplomas with distinctions. Her string quartet studies took her to Basel to Walter Levin, and she studied baroque violin with Anton Steck in Trossingen. As a sought-after specialist in early music, Meret Lüthi is a guest on Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Radio Suisse Romande Espace 2, Südwestrundfunk SWR 2 and Bayerischer Rundfunk BR, and teaches baroque violin and historically informed performance practice at the Bern University of the Arts. In 2017 she was awarded the Music Prize of the Canton of Bern and in 2020 the Culture Prize of the Bürgi-Willert Foundation for her many years of outstanding musical activities. Her artistic work is documented on Sony Music Switzerland, Ramée and Dynamic, and was awarded the Diapason d'or in 2013 and 2017 as well as an OPUS KLASSIK and Premio Abbiati in 2020.

Eduard Melkus brought Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's (1644-1704) Rosary Sonatas (Rosenkranzsonaten) to new life with his groundbreaking 1967 recording; in the six decades that have passed since then, the pieces, which are as virtuoso as they are meditative in mood, have conquered a firm place in the discographies of ambitious baroque violinists. The Austrian violinist Gunar Letzbor has been considered one of the leading interpreters of this famous cycle since he recorded his interpretation on album for the Arcana label in 1996. The success was overwhelming: the critics were enthusiastic and the recording is still today available in the label's catalogue. Letzbor gave countless concerts with sonatas from Biber's epochal work, earning himself a reputation as the Biber expert. In 2019, more than two decades later, richer in experience, in life and as an artist, Letzbor again dares to perform Biber's Rosary Sonatas. The new recording is not only more than 20 minutes longer than the 1996 recording, it also incorporates the latest research results, such as the "Salzburger Lautensatz", an instrumentation of the lute continuo typical of Biber's Salzburg days. In a detailed, highest readable booklet text Letzbor gives detailed information about his new approach.

Gunar Letzbor and his ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria have been working with violin music from the Habsburg Empire for decades, and Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's violin sonatas from 1681 were, as Letzbor himself says,"a milestone in his artistic development". The first recording was made in 1994 and since then Ars Antiqua Austria has regularly performed this repertoire in concerts. While Biber was still largely unknown at that time, the composer and his work are now considered by audiences to be among the greats of the Baroque era. Biber was highly acclaimed by his contemporaries as a violin virtuoso and as a composer. His portrait shows a noble man with great charisma and a dignified, proud bearing. However, after many years of studying the violin sonatas, Gunar Letzbor has now gained a completely different impression of Biber's personality, namely that of a daredevil and avant-garde composer. His violin sonatas are full of wild ideas, formal boundaries are dissolved, the technical demands go beyond all the limits of violin playing of his time. And most importantly, the emotions reach the limits of the emotional range. Gunar Letzbor puts all this experience into his new recording of Biber's violin sonatas from 1681 and, as with his recording of Biber's rosary sonatas (see PC 10409), once again presents a reference recording.

Even in the 17th century critics called it a "forced art", and indeed, even for many professionals today it is not easy to understand scordatura as an intuitive way of playing the violin. But when composers master the art of retuned strings to perfection, completely new sound experiences are possible. Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber was without question one of the greatest in this field, and so his seven sonatas recorded here actually offer "artful vocal harmonies", as the Latin title promises. In each sonata, Biber prescribes different, sometimes considerably deviating from the usual tunings - the result is sometimes considerably more, sometimes considerably less tension on the strings, which leads to a completely new tonal differentiation of the apparently so familiar string instruments. The ensemble "Der musikalische Garten" presents this technically and musically perfect.

ACRONYM's exploration of the wild music attributed to H.I.F. von Biber includes several pieces recorded here for the first time. Works include programmatic battle music, Latin church music, and dance suites. ACRONYM (Anachronistic Cooperative Realizing Obscure Nuanced Yesteryear’s Masterpieces), an “outstanding young early music string ensemble” (The New Yorker), is dedicated to giving modern premieres of the wild instrumental music of the seventeenth century. Since 2014 the band has released seven critically acclaimed recordings. ACRONYM’s performances have been praised for their “consummate style, grace, and unity of spirit.” (The New York Times)

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