Biber: Complete Violin Sonatas — 1681

The Bohemian composer Heinrich Biber was also a virtuoso violinist, and pioneered advanced techniques of playing and expression in the generation before Vivaldi. The eight violin sonatas Biber published in 1681 are typical of his fierily inventive but also ravishingly beautiful music. Here, they receive outstanding advocacy by the Croatian violinist Bojan Čičić—the grace and elegance of his artistry is evident in the charming “Variationes” movement of Sonata No. 1, while the “Aria – Presto” movement of Sonata No. 7 highlights his fleet-fingered dexterity. Altering the violin’s conventional tuning (a technique known as “scordatura”) is a trick Biber uses frequently, resulting in novel colorations. Yet staying perfectly in tune, even when playing several strings at once, is a strong feature of Čičić’s seemingly effortless performances. The small group of accompanying instruments—theorbo, harp, harpsichord, and organ—proves ideally collegial, warming the harmonies and varying the textures in these richly appealing sonatas.