Heinrich Biber hardly needs introducing as he once did; recorded representations, if not comprehensive sets, can now be found in the catalogue of his five printed sets of instrumental works. In the case of his earliest collection, Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes (“Sonatas appropriate for the altar or court”) of 1676, we are spoilt for choice. Peter Holman and The Parley of Instruments recorded all 12 sonatas in a pioneering disc dating from 1983 whilst, more recently, the outstanding Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort have set down all the sonatas on two discs intermixed with choice works by Schmelzer and Muffat respectively. Biber is in many ways the natural heir to Schmelzer in his consolidation of a distinctly Central European dialect. It is, therefore, no coincidence to see the young and brilliant Bohemian violinist (could Biber have been the most outstanding fiddle virtuoso before Paganini?) drawing on Schmelzer’s rhetorical quilt-like variety of mood, key and scoring. Whilst one can trace the spirit of previous generations of Italians, the blend of fastidious counterpoint, rhythmic energy, intense and rich textures and enterprising tonal colour is peculiar to this wonderful Austrian byway of the seventeenth century.
The Purcell Quartet are now experienced interpreters of Biber, having recorded the composer’s complete Harmonia artificiosa sonatas (Chandos, 11/94) to deserved plaudits. Sonatae tam aris is perhaps a less arcane collection overall: the violins are tuned normally (no scordatura tuning) and the emphasis is on a more pithy ensemble sonata, rather than a projection of subtle and sophisticated solo effects. Five of the works employ either one or two trumpets, working typical motifs into an imaginative web of violins and violas, each with lines of true polyphonic integrity. The Purcell Quartet give these wonderfully striking and noble textures a sense of space and composure. If the all-string works, like Sonata No. 6, are less deliberately calculated and theatrical than with the Freiburg consort, then the Purcells certainly communicate a soft warmth which says much about the simple freshness of these delightful works; the group also provide the dance-like sections with enough of an uplift to allude to the odd rustic root without, as the Freiburgers do – very convincingly, revelling in rustic and gipsyish antics.
The Purcells take more ‘as read’ than the free-spirited Germans. Whilst the virtuosity of the Freiburg group has the listener on the edge of the seat in Sonata No. 4, I am drawn to the sheer beauty and intimacy of the ensemble playing here, enhanced by the impeccable trumpet playing of Mark Bennett and Michael Laird; unobtrusive and airy one moment and brilliantly focused the next, they cover the full gamut of expressive potential, including in the fiendish G minor Sonata for solo trumpet and strings (played by Mark Bennett, though the notes fail to mention this). If not as cultivated or polished as the Germans, the English group have special things to say about this music: a pure unadulterated pleasure in Biber’s delicious creations. Now, with luck, to the complete Fidicinium sacro-profanum of 1681. A strongly recommended new release.'