BIBER Fidicinium sacro-profanum, Sonatas I-XII
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Challenge Classics
Magazine Review Date: 04/2014
Media Format: Super Audio CD
Media Runtime: 46
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CC72575
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(12) Sonatas, 'Fidicinium sacro-profanum' |
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Composer
Ars Antiqua Austria Gunar Letzbor, Violin Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Composer |
Author: David Vickers
Ars Antiqua Austria have laboured at Biber’s ‘sacred-profane fiddling’ for 25 years until eventually deciding that their interpretations were ready for this compelling recording. Playing from a facsimile of the original publication, the spirited allegros during Sonata II in F major offer zesty panache but never at the expense of clarity, and elsewhere there are judicious contrasts, such as compelling storminess (the agitated climax to Sonata III in D minor), battling assertiveness (the rapid dotted passage that ends Sonata V in C major), exquisite gentility (the conclusion to Sonata IV in G minor) and convivial sunniness (the Italianate opening of Sonata X in E major). Sometimes slow minor-key passages are loudly exaggerated where softer understatement might have served the music better, although the chromatic central Adagio in Sonata XII in C minor has melancholic poignancy.
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