Biber's Mystery Sonatas uniquely employ fourteen different scordatura tunings, where altered intervals on the four strings create extraordinarily different "sound worlds" to describe each event.
Compositional Technique
Scordatura, from the Italian 'discordare' meaning 'out of tune', is a technique where violin strings are purposefully tuned differently from their usual G-D-A-E arrangement.
Composer Biography
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, the composer, was appointed Kapellmeister of Salzburg in 1684 and ennobled in 1690 for his "highest perfection in the art of music."
Critical Reception
The original manuscript of Biber's Mystery Sonatas lay dormant for over two centuries before being rediscovered in the Bavarian State Library in Munich during the 1890s.
Interpretation
The violinist Rachel Podger used her own violin for all the sonatas on this recording, experiencing physical changes to the instrument, including the tail gut fraying and needing replacement.
Composition History
The Mystery Sonatas are also known as the Rosary Sonatas or Copper-Plate Engraving Sonatas because each sonata features a copper engraving depicting mysteries in the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
Compositional Technique
Biber's score for the Mystery Sonatas is written in tablature, meaning notes appear as if the violin were tuned normally, but sound completely different when played due to scordatura.
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Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber: Rosary Sonatas (Rosenkranzonaten)
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Locatelli, P.A.: Violin Sonatas, Op. 8, Nos. 1-6
Pandolfi Mealli: Sonate à violino solo (Opera quarta)
