A Soulful Journey into the heart of the Baroque

Also known as the Rosary Sonatas, these three sets of 5 sonatas for violin and continuo (plus a concluding Passacaglia for solo violin) were completed around 1676. Written by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber’s and dedicated to the Archbishop Gandolph in Salzburg, these sonatas are as compelling, affecting and moving as they were when they were written almost 350 years ago. Scored for a single violin supported by continuo, Biber employs a different tuning for each sonata. Only the first sonata (the Annunciation) and the final Passacaglia share the standard G-D-A-E tuning. This technique of tuning the violin, called scordatura, gives a tremendous range of affects and emotions to this music. Retuning brings the violin into different key areas and creates a kaleidoscope of overtones and sonic effects, helping Biber to create specific feelings or affects in the listener.

Performers

Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin
David Morris, viola da gamba and lirone
Henry Lebedinsky, organ and harpsichord

The Sorrowful Mysteries

• The Agony in the Garden
• The Scourging
• The Crowning with Thorns
• The Carrying of the Cross
• The Crucifixion