Heinrich Biber's three groups of Mystery Sonatas correspond to the Catholic Rosary's traditional division into Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, and these 15 sonatas, closing with a passacaglia, serve as a musical meditation on the Christian story. This Baroque collection was long unknown and only published in 1905, yet in the 21st century the Mystery Sonatas have become a touchstone for virtuoso violinists, not least for the challenges they present in their unusual scordatura tunings, which require the use of ...
Read More
Heinrich Biber's three groups of Mystery Sonatas correspond to the Catholic Rosary's traditional division into Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, and these 15 sonatas, closing with a passacaglia, serve as a musical meditation on the Christian story. This Baroque collection was long unknown and only published in 1905, yet in the 21st century the Mystery Sonatas have become a touchstone for virtuoso violinists, not least for the challenges they present in their unusual scordatura tunings, which require the use of several violins in performance. Christina Day Martinson and the Boston Baroque, under the direction of Martin Pearlman, master the difficulties of Biber's inventive and unorthodox music, and achieve a deeply emotional experience that transcends religiosity. Day Martinson manages the tuning problem by using six violins, and plays with a combination of passionate intensity and bravura execution that covers all aspects of the Mystery Sonatas' technical and expressive range. She is joined by...
Read Less
