Biber: Sacred And Profane

Featuring

Paul McCreesh
Reinhard Goebel
Timothy Roberts
Gabrieli Consort & Players
Musica Antiqua Köln
Gabrieli Consort

Bartholomäus Riedl
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
Georg Muffat
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Abraham Megerle
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Orlando di Lasso
Anonymous

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Historical Context

Salzburg, where Biber worked, was the second-oldest archbishopric in the German-speaking world and maintained its independence as a buffer state between Austria and Bavaria until 1803.

Composition History

Biber's Harmonia artificioso-ariosa, published in 1696, may have been intended for his daughter Anna Magdalena, who became a renowned virtuoso on the violin and viola d'amore as a nun.

Compositional Technique

The Missa Salisburgensis is a monumental work, written in 53 parts and divided among two vocal and four instrumental choirs, positioned in six different locations to exploit the acoustics of Salzburg Cathedral.

Composer Biography

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, the composer, entered the service of Prince-Archbishop Maximilian Gandolph von Kuenburg in Salzburg in 1670, after having left his previous post in Olmütz under somewhat adventurous circumstances.

Composition History

Biber's Missa Salisburgensis, featured on this album, was likely composed for the 1,100th anniversary celebration of the Salzburg archbishopric in 1682, designed to showcase the cathedral's acoustics.

Critical Reception

More than 80 years after Biber's death, the English music writer Charles Burney praised him as the best violinist of the 17th century, noting his solos were the most difficult and fanciful of their time.

Compositional Technique

Biber's violin music frequently employs 'scordatura,' a technique of retuning the violin strings to facilitate difficult passages and create unique tonal colors for each piece.