Sarabanda - Music

Sarabanda by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Von Biber

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Von Biber

Artist Biography For Heinrich Ignaz Franz Von Biber

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Von Biber 1644–1704 Was A Czech-Austrian Composer And Violinist. Biber Was Born On 12th August 1644 In Stráž Pod Ralskem Czechia . He Was A Violinist At The Castle Of Kromeriz And The Salzburg Court And In 1684 Became Kapellmeister In Salzburg Where He Died Twenty Years Later On 3rd May 1704. His Works Show A Predilection For Canonic Use And Harmonic Diapason That Pre-Date The Later Baroque Works Of Johann Pachelbel And Johann Sebastian Bach. He Was Known As A Violin Virtuoso And Is Best Known For His Violin Works Many Of Which Employ Scordatura Unconventional Tunings Of The Open Strings . The Music Of Biber Has Enjoyed A Renaissance In Part Because Of "The Rosary Sonatas". This Set Of Fifteen Sonatas Is Also Known As "The Mystery Sonatas" For Key Events In The Lives Of The Virgin Mary And Christ And "The Copper-Engraving Sonatas" For The Engravings At The Head Of The Sonatas . Each Sonata Employs A Different Tuning Of The Violin. This Use Of Scordatura Transforms The Violin From The Pleasures Of The Five Joyful Mysteries The Annunciation Etc. To The Trauma Of The Five Sorrowful Mysteries The Crucifixion Etc. To Ethereal Nature Of The Five Glorious Mysteries The Resurrection Etc. . The Reconfiguration Of The Violin Is Also Symbolic. For Example The Middle Two Strings Of The Violin Are Crossed For The "Resurrection" Sonata. Biber Wrote Choral And Chamber Music Concerti Operas And A Number Of Better-Known Pieces Such As The "Nightwatchman" Serenade And "Harmonia Artificiosa". A Work Which Is Currently Attributed To Him Formerly It Was Attributed To Orazio Benevoli Is The Missa Salisburgensis A Polyphonic Setting Of The Mass For Fifty-Three Independent Voices. Whether Or Not It Is By Biber It Has More Independent Contrapuntal Lines Than Any Other Piece Of Music From Before The Twentieth Century.