THE ROSARY SONATAS
HEINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ BIBER
The rosary sonatas for violin
Domitille Gilon | Violins
Ronald Martin Alonso | Viola da Gamba & violone
Diego Salamanca | Theorbo & Guitar
xxx Harp
Thomas Soltani | Harpsichord & organ
This corpus of suites and sonatas of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber has been composed in Salzburg, around the year 1676. In this homage to Mary, each piece is in relation with the life of the Christ.
Biber is using, during all this corpus, of the scordatura technique, unusual at this time. Whatever the tone of the piece, the violin resonates and emphasizes the richness of the discourse. The rosary sonatas, composed to celebrate the virgin, thus take on a whole other dimension, allowing us to reach those rare moments of fullness where one feels in peaceful harmony with the world.