Search catalogue

News


Biber - The Rosary Sonatas

Composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Performer Ariadne Daskalakis
Ensemble Vintage Köln
Catalogue Number BIS-2096 SACD
EAN 7318599920962
Format SACD Hybrid

This hybrid disc plays on both CD and SACD players
SACD Surround - SACD Stereo - CD Stereo

  –  2 discs
Release date Jul 2015
Total time 118'35

Set of 2 SACDs
Biber’s ‘Rosary Sonatas’ for violin and basso continuo stand alone in the violin literature and in music history, offering a unique combination of programmatic material and the use of scordatura (tuning a string instrument differently than the standard tuning). Consisting of fifteen sonatas for violin and basso continuo, and a closing Passacaglia for solo violin, the cycle was presented by Biber to his employer, the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, in a handsome manuscript sometime before 1687. Through the copper engravings inserted at the head of each sonata in the manuscript depicting key moments in the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary, the music has become associated with the Catholic Mysteries of the Rosary. As the manuscript is missing its title page, the collection has become known under a variety of names: the Rosary, Mystery, Biblical or even Copper-Engraving Sonatas. The moods and emotions of this highly expressive music range from Mary's wonderment at the Annunciation to the agony of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, the crucifixion and the subsequent resurrection, celebrated in a fantasy on the hymn Surrexit Christus hodie. Through the use of fifteen different tunings of the violin – one for each of the fifteen sonatas before the return to standard tuning in the closing Passacaglia – Biber achieves a variety of timbres, which combined with his highly imaginative treatment of the violin makes for absorbing listening. Appearing for the first time on BIS, the Greek-American violinist Ariadne Daskalakis has made a number of previous recordings, on baroque as well as modern violin. She is here supported by her fellow members in Ensemble Vintage Köln, a Cologne-based group of musicians specialized in baroque music. As a coupling to Biber's Rosary Sonatas – with a duration of almost 120 minutes – the ensemble has chosen to include the only extant violin sonata by George Muffat, Biber's colleague in the service of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg.
 
Choose format
 
 
 
Disc 1
 
  Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
  Sonata 1. The Annunciation 5'41
01 Præludium 2'10
02 Aria – Variatio 2'37
03 Finale 0'54
 
  Sonata 2. The Visitation 4'47
04 Sonata 1'36
05 Allamanda 2'26
06 Presto 0'45
 
  Sonata 3. The Nativity 6'06
07 Sonata 1'26
08 Courente – Double 2'36
09 Adagio 2'04
 
  Sonata 4. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
10 Ciacona 7'01
 
  Sonata 5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple 7'13
11 Præludium 0'56
12 Allamanda 1'31
13 Guigue 1'18
14 Sarabanda – Double 3'28
 
  Sonata 6. The Agony in the Garden
15 Lamento 8'32
 
  Sonata 7. The Scourging at the Pillar 8'27
16 Allamanda – Variatio 3'32
17 Sarabanda – Variatio 4'55
 
  Sonata 8. The Crowning with Thorns 5'57
18 Sonata 2'16
19 Guigue – Double 1 – Double 2 3'41
 
  Sonata 9. The Carrying of the Cross 6'54
20 Sonata 2'12
21 Courente – Double 3'18
22 Finale 1'24
 
  Sonata 10. The Crucifixion 8'13
23 Præludium 1'10
24 Aria – Variatio 7'03
 
 
Disc 2
 
  Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
  Sonata 11. The Resurrection 7'31
01 Sonata 2'31
02 Surrexit Christus hodie 3'42
03 Adagio 1'18
 
  Sonata 12. The Ascension 6'46
04 Intrada 0'30
05 Aria Tubicinum 1'09
06 Allamanda 2'31
07 Courente – Double 2'36
 
  Sonata 13. The Descent of the Holy Spirit 7'23
08 Sonata 3'02
09 Gavott 1'09
10 Guigue 1'38
11 Sarabanda 1'34
 
  Sonata 14. The Assumption of the Virgin 7'52
12 [Sonata] 2'18
13 Aria – [Variatio] – Guigue 5'34
 
  Sonata 15. The Coronation of the Virgin 10'16
14 Sonata 1'23
15 Aria [Variatio] 4'40
16 Canzon 1'41
17 Sarabanda – [Double] 2'32
 
18 Passagalia [Sonata 16] for solo violin 7'41
 
 
  Georg Muffat
19 Sonata in D major for violin and basso continuo 12'33
 
  Album total 118'35
ComposerBiber, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von
Muffat, Georg
EnsembleEnsemble Vintage Köln
ViolinDaskalakis, Ariadne

eClassical.com is a completely virtual record label and a secure online store open 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Customers and visitors can download classical music in high quality FLAC or MP3 and find out more about classical music. Terms and Conditions