Luogo e data di registrazione		Studio Wien-Film, Rosenhügel, Wien (Austria) - 17-23 marzo 1967
	Original Editions		Archiv Produktion | 2723 045 | 3 LP | durata 51' 08" · 44' 21" · 42' 50" | (p) 1976 | ANA | stereo
	Edizione "Codex"		Archiv Produktion "Codex" | 453 173-2 | durata 56' 43" · 52' 47" | LC 0113 | 2 CD | (p) 1996 | ADD | stereo
	Executive Producer		Prof. Dr. Hans Hickmann
	Recording Producer		Dr. Gerd Ploebsch
	Tonmeister (Balance Engineer)		Klaus Scheibe
	Cover		Stephan Lochner, "The Holy Virgin in the Rose Arbour", Wallraf Richartz Museum, Colognedone "Die Beweinung Christi", fresco (c.1305); Padua, Cappella degli Scrovegni
	Art Direction		Fred Münzmaier
	Note		Original-Image-Bit-Processing - Added presence and brilliance, greater spatial definition

ORIGINAL EDITIONS 2 LP - 198 422/23 - (p) 1968

Treasures from Archiv Produktion’s Catalogue A rare and valuable collection of documents is the pride of any library or archive. CODEX, Archiv Produktion’s new series, presents rare documents in sound from 50 years of pioneering recording. These recordings have been digitally remastered using original-image bit-processing technology and can now be appreciated in all the richness of their original sound-image. They range from the serene counterpoint of a Machaut, the intensely spiritual polyphony of a Victoria, to the imposing state-music of a Handel. For the artists on Archiv Produktion recordings, a constant aim has been to rediscover the musical pulse of past times and to recreate the spirit of past ages. In this sense each performance here - whether by Pro Musica Antiqua of Brussels in the 1950s, the Regensburg Domchor in the 1960s, or Kenneth Gilbert and Trevor Pinnock in the 1970s - made a vital contribution to the revival of Early Music in our time. CODEX highlights recordings that were unique in their day, many of them first recordings ever of this rare and remarkable repertoire, now appearing for the first time on CD. A special aspect of the history of performance in our century can now be revisited, as great moments from Archiv Produktion’s recording history are restored and experienced afresh. Dr. Peter Czornyi Director, Archiv Produktion BIBER: MYSTERY SONATAS Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber was regarded as the most celebrated German violinist of the 17th century. He was also highly regarded as a composer of operas and church music. His models as a violinist were probably Uccellini, Marini, Farina and the Viennese Schmelzer. Like Schmelzer and J.J. Fux, however, he was a composer whose music contains popular elements typical of Austrian Baroque, and which, during the 18th century, were to lead quite naturally to Viennese Classicism. Biber’s significance lies chiefly in his chamber works, whose originality is striking. One of his principal works is the collection of “Sonatis, Preludys, Allemandis, Courent; Saraband: Arijs, Ciacona, Variationibus & Honori XV Sacronem Mijsterionem”: 15 Sonatas based on the mysteries of the Catholic Rosary, which at that time was the object of special periods of devout study during October at Salzburg. It was probably on these occasions, in 1678, that the Sonatas were first played in Salzburg Cathedral. In several respects they are unique in the entire range ofviolin music. Here for the first time, so far as we know, an attempt was made to give the new form of the sonata, still in an early stage of development, programmatic contents. Furthermore these sonatas form a connected cycle of compositions, a work whose only counterpart is the set of Biblical Sonatas for keyboard instruments by Johann Kuhnau, but this dates from much later. In the only extant manuscript of Biber’s work, which is at Munich, each sonata is preceded by a small copperplate engraving depicting one of the mysteries of the Rosary. Also included is a Passacaglia for unaccompanied violin, which appears from its illustration to have been intended for the Feast of the Guardian Angels (2 October). From a technical viewpoint, too, these sonatas are unique, as each calls for a different tuning of the violin (scordatura). J.J. Quantz explained the meaning of scordatura briefly and to the point: “The strings are tuned, as indicated by the composer, in seconds, thirds or fourths instead of fifths.” Admittedly, the technique of scordatura - divergence from the normal practice of tuning the violin in fifths - was common in the Baroque age, and had its roots in the lute technique of the Renaissance, but in no other instance was it employed so prominently or with such an abundance of different tunings. Familiar examples of scordatura occur in the fifth Cello Suite of J. S. Bach, in which the highest string is tuned down from A to G, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, in which the viola is to be tuned a semitone higher than usual, and in later times Paganini’s famous First Violin Concerto, which was actually conceived in E flat, although the solo part is written in D. A more recent example of this technique is the violin solo in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. In accordance with the programme underlying Biber’s work, the sequence of movements in the sonatas varies greatly. Apart from pure dance forms, which are often repeated in variations or doubles, there is the Aria - generally consisting of variations on an unchanging bass; the purest forms of the basso ostinato technique, Chaconne and Passacaglia, together with toccata-like Preludes, which are often interrupted in the manner of recitatives; and contrapuntal movements described by the terms Sonata or Canzone. The dance movements generally form the core of the cyclic structure, which begins in twelve of the Sonatas with a Prelude or Sonata, while a free Finale is only to be found in six sonatas. Sonata No.4 is a continuous Chaconne, while No. 6 is a completely “through-composed” piece, in which the various sections are interwoven. Especially noteworthy, too, is the Passacaglia of Sonata No.11, based on the ancient melody “Surrexit Christus hodie”, in which the 16-bar bass theme is skilfully varied and broken down. From the programmatic viewpoint the sonatas reveal an abundance of interesting features. Biber sometimes hit upon musical figures almost visual in their imagery: in the Annunciation Sonata the descent of the angel and the Blessed Virgin’s response - there are eloquent recitatives, and a vigorous suggestion of the angel flying away in the Finale; the slow journey across the hills in the Introduction to Sonata No.2, together with the “leaping of the babe in her womb”; the quiet night vigil of the shepherds and the appearance of an angel to them in Sonata No.3, and the shepherd’s adoration at the end of the same Sonata. In Sonata No.5 the “calling” motif at the start and the hurrying figures in the Presto which follows depict the anxious parents seeking the boy Jesus, while the concluding Saraband represents their discovery of him among the doctors of the law. Sonata No.6, entitled Lamento, depicts Jesus kneeling down in the opening motif, trembling in the following Presto, the appearance of an angel in the Adagio, and the capture of Christ in the concluding section of the recitative. Although Sonata No.7 consists entirely of dance movements, Biber succeeded in representing the soldiers by means of trumpet-like motifs in the Allemande, and the strokes of the scourging in the variations of the Saraband. The slow Introduction to Sonata No.8 depicts the seated Christ, the intervening Presto the blows of the soldiers. The long Introduction to Sonata No. 9 suggests Christ trudging along under the weight of the Cross, interrupted by the tumult around him as he sinks to the ground which is also heard in the Finale. In the Prelude to the Tenth Sonata the blows of the hammer in the Crucifixion are clearly audible, as is the representation of the earthquake in the last variation of the Aria. In the Resurrection Sonata (No.11), apart from the thematic relationship with the “Surrexit Christus” melody in the Introduction, there is an impression of the supernatural force which rolled away the stone from the tomb and made the guards flee in terror. The Ascension is represented by means of rising scalic figures and jubilant fanfares. In the Whitsun Sonata (No. 13) an unusual feature is that the first motif is heard three times, an allusion to the Holy Ghost as the third person of the Godhead. The concluding passages represent the rushing wind as the Spirit descends. In Sonata No.14 the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is depicted by means of the rising figures of the introductory Toccata and in the cheerful, popular sounding Ciaconia, which represents heavenly joy. By contrast the Coronation of Mary is splendidly festive. The dance movements and variations which feature in the sonatas also serve their purposes in the illustration of the programme - especially by means of the variations, which often produce highly characteristic musical figures. Examples of this are the Courante with Double in Sonata No.3 (the angel’s song and the hurrying away of the shepherds), the swift themes of the Allemande and Gigue in Sonata No.5, the dances of the Seventh and Eighth Sonatas describing the soldiers disporting themselves, also the Courante with Doubles in Sonata No.9 (the suffering of Christ - the soldiers driving him on). The choice of tonalities was made with care, and corresponds to Baroque key symbolism. Particularly good examples of this are the Christmas Sonata (No.3), with its B minor/D major of the angel’s song and its change to G major in the description of adoration and the Mount of Olives Sonata (No.6), whose C minor tonality turns to E flat major only in the passage representing the angel who comforted Jesus. Also symbolic in effect are, perhaps, the C major tonality for the Ascension of Christ and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin, the more “winged” D major for the Assumption, and the use of G major to depict the joy of Easter. Even the uncommon violin tunings serve expressive purposes. Not only do they enable normally unplayable chords and multiple stoppings to be used, they also change the tonal character of the instrument to a significant extent, thus emphasizing the effect of the chosen tonality. For example only Sonatas Nos.7-9, with their descriptions of the mocking crowd, together with the fanfare-like Ascension Sonata, require the G string to be tuned up to C or D, which gives the violin an especially penetrating tone. In the Mount of Olives Sonata the A-flat and E-flat tunings reflect the sombre atmosphere, while in the Resurrection Sonata the octave-fifth tuning underlines the bell-like character of the Introduction. The varying moods and means of expression which characterize these Sonatas have been matched in the scoring of the basso continuo for this recording. In the original there is no indication of how this is to be realized, apart from the marking “Solo Violin” in the Aria of the Ascension Sonata, which probably signifies that no chordal instrument was to be used in this instance. Consequently a different scoring has been used for the continuo in each Sonata, although the choice has always been restricted to historical continuo instruments: organ, harpsichord, lute, cello, viola da gamba, violone and bassoon. In accordance with south-German tradition the violone - a small double bass - has sometimes been used alone to play the continuo bass in the lower 16' octave, without it being supported by an 8' instrument playing an octave higher. In the tracklist of the Sonatas with their movements, Biblical quotations are given (here adapted from the Authorized Version), which may have served Biber as the basis of his composition. Eduard Melkus (1968) (Translated from the German)