Biber: Rosary Sonatas
$65.00
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HEINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ BIBER
Biber: Rosary Sonatas
Rachel Podger (violin)
[ Channel Classics / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Friday 8 January 2027
Pre-order your copy NOW!
Johann Kuhnau, Bach's predecessor at Leipzig, composed biblical sonatas depicting stories -such as David and Goliath- in abstract, wordless, keyboard pieces. Biber's Mystery Sonatas are quite different because they form part of a linked meditation on the life of Jesus and therefore present remarkable potential for the interpreter as a kind of 'Evangelist'. Uniquely, these celebrated works employ fourteen different scordatura tunings where the altered intervals on the four strings create extraordinarily different 'sound worlds' to describe each event. Singers aside, performers are rarely presented with such heady subject matter to motivate their interpretations, apart from the usual movement titles indicating tempi, pulse and character. Some pieces may have meaningful titles with a dedication, perhaps to another composer or friend, and we also come across specific instructions to 'imitate' various animals. For instance, Biber's Battalia -a work which employs fashionable programmatic elements in the best traditions of a sonata rappresentativa- portrays both the battle and the lament for the dead in a fashion which requires no further explanation. Likewise, in the case of C. P. E. Bach's trio sonata Sanguineus and Melancholicus, a whole scene is described with meticulous and detailed instructions for expression, ranging from stubbornness and anger to laughter and ridicule, and even irony!
Tracks:
Sonata No. 1 in D Minor, C. 90 "The Annunciation": Praeludium - Aria and Variations - Finale
Sonata No. 2 in A Major, C. 91 "The Visitation": Sonata - Allemanda - Presto
Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, C. 92 "The Nativity": Sonata - Courente and Double - Adagio
Sonata No. 4 in D Minor, C. 93 "The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple": Ciacona
Sonata No. 5 in A Major, C. 94 "The Finding in the Temple": Praeludium - Allemanda - Gigue - Sarabanda and Double
Sonata No. 6 in C Minor, C. 95 "The Agony in the Garden": Lamento
Sonata No. 7 in F Major, C. 96 "The Scourging at the Pillar": Allamande and Variatio - Sarabande and Variatio
Sonata No. 8 in B-Flat Major, C. 97 "The Crowning with Thorns": Sonata - Gigue and 2 Doubles
Sonata No. 9 in A Minor, C. 98 "The Carrying of the Cross": Sonata - Courante and 2 Doubles - Finale
Sonata No. 10 in G Minor, C. 99 "The Crucifixion": Praeludium - Aria and 5 Variations
Sonata No. 11 in G Major, C. 100 "The Resurrection": Sonata - Surrexit Christus hodie - Adagio
Sonata No. 12 in C Major, C. 101 "The Ascension": Intrada - Aria tubicinum - Allamanda - Courente and Double
Sonata No. 13 in D Minor, C. 102 "The Descent of the Holy Ghost": Sonata - Gavotte - Gigue - Sarabanda
Sonata No. 14 in D Major, C. 103 "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin": Grave - Adagio - Aria and Variations
Sonata No. 15 in C Major, C. 104 "The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin": Sonata - Aria and Variations - Canzon - Sarabanda
Rosary Sonatas - Passagalia in G Minor, C. 105 "Guardian Angel"
