Recorded in: St Bartholemew's Church, Orford, Suffolk 22-24 May 1995 Producer(s) Martin Compton Sound Engineer(s) Ben Connellan Peter Newble (Assistant)

The release at hand presents musical portraits of two influential composers of the Baroque era through a selection from their oeuvre for violin and harpsichord: Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644 – 1709) and Georg Muffat (1653 – 1704). Their first meeting in Salzburg was unfortunately not documented. However, it is known that both talents arrived with differing previous musical experiences before spending years in the service of the Archdiocese of Salzburg. Thanks to economic growth and financial strength in this sovereign Catholic principality, all the arts, including music, enjoyed considerable support. Like in all other Baroque centers, music was an integral part of courtly representation, and in Salzburg, it also became an important channel of communication for the Counter-Reformation.

A fabulous violinist, Biber preferred his favorite instrument in his compositions and wrote two sonata collections that belong to the basic repertoire of Baroque solo literature: the “Rosenkranz” or “Mystery” sonatas (c. 1674) and the Violin Sonatas (1681). Two pieces from each of these collections can be heard on the album at hand, rounded off with a passacaglia from Georg Muffat’s collection “Apparatus Musico-Organisticus”, which holds as much significance for Baroque keyboard literature as Biber’s collections for the violin mentioned above, and last but not least a unique piece: Muffat’s only surviving violin sonata. The instruments that meet in this recording come from two worlds: Flóra Fábri performs on a harpsichord built in 2015 by Detmar Hungerberg according to Italian models; the violin played by Dóra Szilágyi was built in 1765 by Sebastian Klotz in Mittenwald.

After the success of the Red, Yellow, Blue and Pink collections (a total of 56 reissues), which brought the pearls from the Baroque catalogues of the house labels back into the spotlight, here are fourteen new titles offering a chance to rediscover more Baroque treasures and rarities. Like the last series, this fifth installment also opens up to the Classical (Mozart) or Renaissance (Dufay) repertories - recordings that are an integral part of Alpha's identity and history. This series' reissues are performed by the finest musicians in the field; most of these recordings received one or more awards on their first release. The albums come with proper booklets, including notes in three languages (French, English, German). Photographers from many different backgrounds illustrate the covers of the series with their works: this time the main theme is the color white. The present album features Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's 'Les sonates du Rosaire,' performed by Patrick Bismuth and Ensemble La Tempesta.

BIBER Mystery Sonatas • Alice Piérot (vn); dir; Les Vielleurs de Nuit (period instruments) • ALPHA 38 (2 CDs: 119:44)


In this re-release of a 2004 CD, Les Vielleurs de Nuit (Alice Piérot, violin; Marianne Muller, viola da gamba; Pascal Monteilhet, theorbo; and Elisabeth Geiger, claviorganum) took a free-spirited and poetic view of Biber’s Mystery or Rosary Sonatas , a strong contrast with Andrew Manze’s intensely spiritual one (Harmonia Mundi 907 321, 28:6); John Holloway’s tartly virtuosic one (Virgin Classics Veritas 59551, 14:6); Eduard Melkus’s strikingly dramatic one (Musical Heritage Society 524671, 22:4); and Monica Huggett’s earthier one (Gaudeamus 350 and 351, 28:3 and 28:6). Their continuo group, while small and fairly constant (Melkus’s ensemble varied in size and timbre to suit the dramatic situation), offers, in the claviorganum, a sort of built-in variety that other ensembles can achieve only by the use of organ and harpsichord. Its timbre, as in the “Crown of Thorns” Sonata (VIII) by itself offers dramatic commentary, the novelty of which may be especially convincing to those unfamiliar with the instrument.


Piérot introduces a wide variety of free tempos into the opening of the “Annunciation” Sonata (I); and although she maintains a steadier pace in the sonatas to come, her freedom here serves as a stylistic calling card for the entire cycle. In general, she produces a straightforward, unmannered, though somewhat nasal sound from her violin (or violins—not mentioning the makers, the booklet doesn’t even specify how many violins she’s employed for the cycle—usually the scordatura requires at least three—nor how long it took to make the recordings, which might provide a clue). Of her virtuosity, there can be no question: the flurries of rapid notes in the “Presentation” Sonata (IV) feature exceptionally clean articulation, and the rapid double-stopping in the “Finding” Sonata (V) sounds appropriately sonorous and virtuosic.


Pierre Pascal’s notes take an even weaker line than do many others concerning the Sonatas’ programmatic content: not only does he suggest, as has become common, that they probably don’t illustrate the Mysteries in any specific way, he suggests that the possibility that Biber may have adapted earlier compositions to his purposes shows how “anachronistic” our ideas of the Sonatas’ programs have become. Nevertheless, as in Melkus’s set, Piérot has clearly—and dramatically—marked the transition from the Joyful to the Sorrowful Mysteries. Of course, the appearance of dance movements (such as the Allemanda and Sarabanda in the “Scourging” Sonata, VII) may seem to diminish the intensity of the story line’s most agonizing episodes. The freedom so marked at the beginning of the “Annunciation” Sonata returns in the opening movement (marked Sonata) of the “Carrying of the Cross” Sonata (IX), though the succeeding Courente and Doubles return to dance-like regularity. The briskness of her opening passages in the “Crucifixion” Sonata (X) reinforces the effect, whether or not it’s pictorial; in the variations on its aria, Piérot explores a captivating expressive range, from the comfortingly lyrical to the disturbingly agitated.


In the opening of the “Resurrection” Sonata (XI), the work in which the violin’s two center strings cross over, Piérot once again takes a relaxed view of the printed metric structure; she adopts a stricter view of the hymn tune, with its eventual appearance in the octaves the scordatura facilitates. She begins the “Ascension” Sonata (XII) at a heart-quickening tempo, which introduces special urgency into the ensuing march, with its hunting-call motives. Piérot also begins the “Assumption” Sonata (XIV) with a highly personal, quasi-improvisational account of the Praeludium, and so expands the expressive envelope in her reading of the succeeding Ciacona as to elevate that movement more nearly to the level of Bach’s later masterpiece than even her performance of the “Guardian Angel” Passacaglia (XVI) approaches, at least if realization of expressive possibilities, hidden or otherwise, be taken as a criterion.


Throughout, gambist Marianne Muller converts the bass line into a frequent polyphonic dispute with the violin, increasing the intimacy of the dialogue while it clarifies its import. Listeners should make no mistake about it: the annotator who suggested that nobody before or after Biber has explored the violin’s capabilities so fully wasn’t far off the mark. Taking that suggestion to set a standard, Piérot’s performances approach the goal about as successfully as do the best of the others, including those by Manze, Huggett, Holloway, and, especially, Melkus. In fact, for those seeking a highly personal yet scholarly and disciplined account of the works, in clear and vibrant recorded sound, Piérot’s could be an attractive overall choice.


FANFARE: Robert Maxham

Classical Music

Classical Music

The opus most decisive for Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's fame and widely used into the 18th century are the eight sonatas for violin and basso continuo published in 1681. Since the Sonatae unarum fidium by the Viennese violin virtuoso Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, published in 1664, no violin solos of comparable extraordinary compositional and technical ambition had appeared. With his sonatas of 1681, Biber succeeded in setting new standards and achieving a previously unattained synthesis of equally high virtuoso demands, artistic content and compositional technical level. Our exceptional violinist Plamena Nikitassova uses a historical playing technique for her interpretation - a technique that is hardly cultivated any more even among baroque violinists. The instrument is not placed on the shoulder and, if necessary, held with the chin, but is placed against the left breast. This also requires a different posture of the bow: the right arm is not raised very high, the thumb is placed on the hair and contributes to the tension. The sound is noticeably removed from the late Baroque aesthetic, but develops its own charm, especially in the execution of the rapid passagework.

"The violinist’s playing is extraordinary — as fresh and improvisatory as though he were composing each sonata on the spot, but also infused with an infectious emotional ardor." -- Cleveland Classical

The Mystery Sonatas by Austrian composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, believed to have been penned in the 1670s, remain unsurpassed for their virtuosity and extended use of scordatura, a unique tuning system that underscores different aural colours and timbres of the violin, thereby illuminating the pictorial themes of the Rosary – the processions devoted to major moments in the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary – which Biber’s work depicts.

Singaporean violinist Alan Choo, the vibrant leader of acclaimed baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire, headlines a dynamic and descriptive recording of the Mystery Sonatas, enhancing the scordatura with six different violins that require 15 individual tunings. He explains, “The use of a unique scordatura tuning for each sonata means that a violinist needs to use multiple violins if performing several of the pieces in the same week – each violin kept at the tuning of its respective sonata. Otherwise, the constant re-tuning of a violin would destabilize its tuning. I used a total of six violins in this recording. The personality of each instrument shines through.”

Joined by a chamber ensemble of his Apollo’s Fire colleagues, including founding director Jeannette Sorrell on harpsichord, Choo navigates Biber’s extended techniques with aplomb and devotion to the 15 programmatic sonatas which are compiled into three cycles – the Joyful Mysteries (the Angel Gabriel delivers the news to Mary that she will be the mother of the Messiah), Sorrowful Mysteries (Jesus’ agony, knowing he is about to be betrayed) and Glorious Mysteries (the Resurrection of Christ and his ascent to heaven) – and are crowned by the timeless finale, Passacaglia for solo violin.

REVIEWS:

[The Mystery Sonatas'] extraordinary technical challenges include Biber’s requirement that the soloist play violins with strings “mis-tuned” (scordatura) from the normal G-D-A-E pitches for 13 of the 15 sonatas, creating different resonances in the instrument for expressive purposes. For somber subjects like “The Agony in the Garden,” the open strings play A-flat – E-flat – G – D, clashing pitches “evoking a sense of struggle,” as Choo writes. For triumphant subjects like “The Ascension,” the open strings are tuned to create a “glorious” C-Major chord. For the recording, Choo has used a total of six instruments to avoid constant retuning that would be destabilizing.

The violinist’s playing is extraordinary — as fresh and improvisatory as though he were composing each sonata on the spot, but also infused with an infectious emotional ardor.

An important aspect of this recording project is the realization of the basso continuo line, which could — as on other recordings — simply be chorded by organ or harpsichord. Never one to pass up the opportunity to tell a vivid story, Sorrell writes, "as a continuo player myself, I have always felt that the extraordinarily imaginative writing in Biber’s masterpiece calls for an imaginative and colorful approach to the accompaniment."

Thus Choo’s superb supporting cast includes harpsichord (Sorrell), chamber organ (Peter Bennett), cello and viola da gamba (René Schiffer), archlute and Baroque guitar (Brian Kay), theorbo (William Sims), triple harp (Anna O’Connell), and viola da gamba and lirone (Kivie Cahn-Lipman). There’s even a bit of percussion (Brian Kay) to accompany the Aria Tubicinum in “The Ascension.” Used judiciously and only rarely all together, they add texture and depth to the sonatas.

Even if you’re not into Roman Catholic mysticism, this recording should be treasured by fans of early Baroque music.

-- ClevelandClassical

If we were to travel four centuries back in time, when strolling through Prague streets we would most likely hear from many a house, palace or church some engrossing and catchy songs by Adam Václav Michna, one of the greatest Czech Baroque poets. His Christmas songs have become widely known and highly popular. Lesser known is Michna’s Czech Marian Music, drawing the listener into the world of poetic hymns praising the Virgin Mary, which formed a significant part of 17th-century Czech music. The album juxtaposes Michna’s pieces with works by Alessandro Grandi, Vincenzo Albrici, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber and Samuel Capricornus, all of them composers who were often in close contact with the Jesuits and drew inspiration from the spirituality practiced by the Society of Jesus. Their lives and work were closely linked with the Kingdom of Bohemia, where their music was regularly played. The seemingly simple songs can only be performed in their entire profundity and beauty by excellent musicians. The album has been recorded by internationally renowned artists, who on numerous occasions have demonstrated their extraordinary qualities when performing a most complex music by J. D. Zelenka and J. S. Bach – the soprano Hana Blažíková and Collegium Marianum. We would be hard pressed indeed to imagine more superlative performers of Michna’s music. Czech Marian Music – the previously overlooked grace and beauty of 17th–century hymns.

Classical Music

The Rosary Sonatas not only deal with mysteries, they are themselves a mystery. With this violin cycle made up of fifteen sonatas and a solo passacaglia, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber created one of the most interesting works in the entire violin repertoire. Even today, the work is not completely decrypted in terms of its significance in assignment of the sonatas to the sacred Christian mysteries. The composer carries the scordatura technique to the extreme. This technique utilizes the tuning of the violin’s four strings to intervals other than the usual, and in this way demands constant concentration from the performer. For French violinist Helene Schmitt, the Rosary Sonatas are not merely a violinistic extreme sport. For her, this work is a musical act of faith. In this performance, a sonic cosmos opens up within the sonatas, singing, speaking, whispering, and even roaring from hardly audible sound to pure heavy metal. The listener will not cease to be astonished. Helene Schmitt’s full devotion to this music is apparent. Her continuo group, which is made up of internationally known performers, provides just the right support and timbres.

This Ondine release includes Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's (1644-1704) 16 Mystery Sonatas, also known as Rosary Sonatas. This set of virtuosic violin sonatas is Biber's most well-known work. They also serve as unique masterpieces of the Baroque violin repertoire. In the present recording violinist Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch is joined by the Finnish Baroque ensemble Battalia.

Biber's Mystery Sonatas feature 15 rosary mysteries from the life of Jesus and Virgin Mary. One of the most prominent characteristics of Biber's work is the use of various tunings, i.e. scordatura. Out of the sixteen sonatas, fourteen require the use of ‘mistuned' violin.

Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch is nowadays in great demand as a leader of countless renowned early music ensembles and orchestras, performing music of the Baroque and symphonies of the age of Mozart and Schubert. Her solo repertoire includes works by Biber, Johann Sebastian Bach, and solo violin works of the 16th and 17th centuries. She also plays the viola and viola d'amore. Among her numerous tasks, she has also worked 10 years as the leader of Philippe Herreweghe's Collegium Vocale.

REVIEW:

Since the demise of The City Musick some 16 years ago, Chicago has been without a period-instrument orchestra. Plenty of smaller chamber groups have been trying to fill the void, but it’s not quite the same as having a full-sized period orchestra that can tackle the larger works. Many metropolitan areas in North America can boast of having a Baroque orchestra—San Francisco, Boston, New York, Seattle, Cleveland, Toronto, Montreal. For a great city like Chicago to go without is unthinkable. The formation of the Baroque Band in 2007 was therefore something of an event and grounds for celebration. That this took place on the cusp of a severe economic downturn is even more remarkable. The present CD is the group’s debut recording, and shows it to consist of a nicely rounded 5-4-3-2-1 plus harpsichord, a healthy size by any standard. My thanks to Jim Ginsberg and his enterprising Cedille label for affording us non-Chicagoans the chance to examine the group for the first time. 

In the press release to the CD, Baroque violinist and founder Gary Clarke speculates that this may be the first time the six suites of Biber’s Mensa sonora have been recorded using full orchestra, and he may be right. My past favorite, and the Baroque Band’s chief competition, is the version by Musica Antiqua Köln and Reinhard Goebel (Archiv 423701, nla). Naturally, one cannot expect the same sort of individualistic chamber-music approach from an orchestral performance, but within the context of a larger group, the Baroque Band plays with admirable style and precision. A minor quibble has to do with the omnipresent and very prominent harpsichord continuo. Well played as it is by David Schrader, the occasional inclusion of a theorbo or chamber organ would have provided some much-needed variety.

The featured work is the famous Battalia à 10 (subtitled “for violin, strings, and basso continuo in D Major” in the booklet), and its history on record is traceable to the classic premiere recording by Concentus Musicus from 1966. That LP, which contained several other works of Biber as well as music of Muffat, was rereleased on CD in the early ’90s as part of the Collectio Argentea series (Archiv 437081, nla). It’s fascinating to compare the two period-instrument performance styles of 1966 and 2010. Back then, violinist Alice Harnoncourt played with a very sweet, vibrato-y sound, but also with great authority and presence. Here, Gary Clarke is equally authoritative, but his sound is straighter and ultimately more apropos than Harnoncourt’s. Compared to the ultra-polished but somewhat laid-back Concentus Musicus, the Baroque Band is a well-drilled regiment, clearly in command of the music. It plays with greater energy and really digs into the Bartók pizzicati in “Die Schlacht.” The players ham it up delightfully in the Lamento movement, a perfect depiction of a bunch of drunken soldiers. The “fife and drum” movement is memorable—for once, the parchment-wrapped double bass really sounds like a drum. Of the several versions that have appeared over the years, including MAK’s, the Baroque Band’s is the most successful in capturing the spirit of this unusual and innovative music.

My main complaint about the CD is that there isn’t enough of it! A timing of 56 minutes is pretty skimpy these days—it would have been easy to add another couple of works by Biber, the Pauern Kirchenfahrt , perhaps, or the Sonata representativa . The recorded sound is first-rate, and Gary Clarke’s notes afford a good introduction to the music. An excellent, urgently recommended debut disc.


FANFARE: Christopher Brodersen


Biber's Mensa Sonora ("Sonorous Table") doesn't get as much play as some of his more virtuosic violin works, but it contains splendid music nonetheless. By any standard this is an excellent performance for a period-instrument group, largely because director Garry Clarke made the smart decision to use a larger-size ensemble rather than having the music played one to a part. In his booklet notes Clarke offers all kinds of ridiculous "historical" reasons supporting this decision, and it's sad that today it is unacceptable for period-instrument performers to offer the one reason that we know would have been as valid in the composer's own time as it is in ours: the music sounds better this way.

Mensa Sonora consists of six parts (called "Pars" appropriately enough), each containing from five to seven brief movements. These range from delicate arias and sarabandes to the vigorous and rhythmically inventive second Balletto from Pars II, and including a couple of imposing Chaconnes (in Pars III and VI). A larger ensemble gives more weight and sonority (that's "Sonora", right?) to the big moments, and a richer but still intimate sound to the lighter ones. Sure, there's the usual minimization of vibrato, which is wrong, but with multiple players it matters less than usual, and to his credit Clarke permits them none of that whiny squeezing of notes that so many period ensembles deploy to the point of mannerism in lyrical passages.

The Battalia makes a substantial bonus. Clarke and his company really play up the battle scene, and the drunken soldiers make a jolly cacophony. Only the final lament of the dying doesn't quite work--it seems to me that it should be simply touching and played more or less straight, without the lachrymose chromaticism exaggerated quite so much. Of course, this is very much a matter of taste. As usual with this label, the engineering is superbly natural and well-balanced. A fine disc that all fans of Baroque music will want to consider.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

The music of Biber is widely assumed to have gone out of vogue with violinists before the middle of the eighteenth century. Biber's reputation, however, lived. In 1789 Charles Burney wrote in his "General History of Music", "of all the violin players of the last century, Biber seems to have been the best, and his solos are the most difficult and most fanciful of any music I have seen of the same period." Biber's Harmonia artificioso-ariosa (1696) is a collection in seven parts (partias), each employing a different tuning. Of the six partias heard on this recording (Nos. 1-6), five are for two violins and bass; and one is for violin, viola and bass. The “artifice” Biber refers to is a procedure now known as scordatura (mistuning). Each of the pieces uses a different tuning in the upper parts. Only the Partia VI is written for violins in normal tuning. The performances on this disc are by the superb baroque ensemble, REBEL. Hailed by the New York Times as "sophisticated and beguiling" and praised by the Los Angeles Times for their " astonishingly vital music-making", the virtuosic New York based ensemble (pronounced re-BEL) has earned an impressive international reputation through their tours and recordings. Rebel can also be heard performing recorder concertos and sonatas of Vivaldi on their highly praised CD, "Shades of Red".

BIBER & BIBER - SONATAS FOR TRUMPETS, STRINGS & CONTINUO, VOL 1CARL HEINRICH BIBER (1681 - 1749)HEINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ BIBER (1644 - 1704) GABRIELE CASSONE, NATURAL TRUMPETROBERTO FALCONE, VIOLINENEMBLE "PIAN & FORTE," ANTONIO GRIGE, ORGAN AND CONDUCTOR BIBER & BIBER - SONATAS FOR TRUMPETS, STRINGS AND CONTINUO, VOL 1C.H. BIBER: SONATA PASCHALIS; SONATAS FOR CLARINO TRUMPET, STRINGS & CONTINUO; SONATA FOR CLARINET, 4 TRUMPETS, STRINGS, TIMPANI AND CONTINUO; SONATA FOR 4 TRUMPETS, STRINGS, TIMPANI AND CONTINUOH.I.F. BIBER: SONATA NO 4 A 5 FOR TRUMPET, STRINGS AND CONTINUO;SONATA REPRESENTATIVA FOR VIOLIN SOLO AND CONTINUO; PARTITA NO 5FOR 2 VIOLINS AND CONTINUO; SONATA NO 7 A 5 FOR 2 TRUMPETS, 2 VIOLINS AND CONTINUO