Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, the composer, left his previous employer without permission to join the Prince-Archbishop Maximilian Gandolf von Kuenburg in Salzburg, a city offering greater cultural prospects.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Biber's music is characterized by a dualism between organized control and absolute fantasy, featuring intricate counterpoint alongside worldly dances, and a strong tendency towards improvisation.
Recording & Production
The continuo on this album is instrumented with a variety of combinations, including violone and organ, organ with plucked strings, harpsichord, and harp, based on recent research into Salzburg performance practice.
Composer Biography
Biber was a highly gifted young man, a virtuoso on the violin, viola da gamba, viola da braccio, and viola d'amore, known for his bold and extravagant musical effects.
Critical Reception
Biber was considered the leading violinist in Europe at the time of his death in 1704, and his music, though never entirely forgotten, saw a more complete reappraisal with an 1898 edition of his 1681 Sonatas.
Compositional Technique
Biber's music combines popular melodies, dances, and folkloric elements, and features daring compositional ideas like 'Bartokian' pizzicati and polytonal effects, showcasing his endless inventiveness.
Composition History
Biber's Violin Sonatas, though supervised in Salzburg, were printed in Nuremberg in 1681 and became his most successful collection, only surpassed by Corelli's Opus V in 1700.
