Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Sonatæ Tam Aris, quam Aulis servientes (1676)
Harmonie Universelle/Florian Deuter, Mónica Waisman
rec. 2021, Kirche St Leodegar, Niederehe, Germany
Accent ACC24386 [77]
Unless you are fluent in Latin, you will need a translation of the title of this set of twelve sonatas: “Sonatas as much for the altar as for the table”. They were written during Biber’s time at the Salzburg court, in the employ of Archbishop Max Gandolph von Kuenberg. As a sidebar, I was surprised by the apparent abbreviation of the Archbishop’s first name in the notes, borne out by a Google search, but also by the alternative spelling of his second name as “Gandalf”. Could this be where Tolkien came up with the name for his wizard?
Heinrich Biber is responsible for the most spectacular work of the Baroque period (in my experience), that being the Missa Salisburgensis, written to mark the 1100th anniversary of the Archbishopric of Salzburg. To some extent, the works presented here are reflections of the Mass in miniature (without voices of course), in that the small string ensemble is given a grandness with the addition of one or two trumpets in seven of the sonatas. On this recording, there are also twelve Duos for trumpets interspersed here throughout; they aren’t strictly part of the Sonatæ Tam Aris, though they were included in the only surviving copy of the set.
The twelve sonatas are marvellous works, with variety in the string writing, given grandeur by the trumpets. Biber’s writing is always full of invention, style and energy, and if you don’t know these works, seek them out. The Duos for two trumpets are more problematic, at least for me. I have no doubt that such works featured prominently in court entertainments, but here, they became repetitive, and frankly (for me) tedious. As you see from the tracklist at the end, they are not alternated with the sonatas, which might have been a better option. The sequences of three in a row (each is around a minute in duration) detracted from the pleasure gained from the sonatas. Of course, in this digital age, one can program out works that you don’t want, and I have to admit that I am likely to only keep the first one, which provides a very suitable opening for the recording.
The performances of the Köln-based Harmonie Universelle are stylish and make Biber’s wonderful sonatas soar. Presto lists five other recordings of the sonatas; the only one I know is an early Hyperion recording by The Parley of Instruments (CDH55041). It provides an interesting contrast, using a harpsichord rather than theorbo in the continuo section, and even more significantly, timpani in the first and last sonatas. The justification given was that timpani parts were often not written down, left to the player to improvise. Its presence certainly makes the two works even more impressive. Otherwise, there isn’t much to choose between the two recordings. Despite what I’ve said about the Duos, I can’t fault the playing of Hans-Martin Rux-Brachtendorf and Astrid Brachtendorf.
So something of a mixed bag, unless you happen to be a trumpet fanfare aficionado. I loved the sonatas, but will probably not listen to more than one Duo ever again.
David Barker
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Contents
Duo X [C 135]
Sonata I a otto [C 114]
Sonata II a sei [C 115]
Sonata III a sei [C 116]
Duo VII [C 132]
Duo VII [C 133]
Duo IX [C 134]
Sonata IV a cinque [C 117]
Sonata V a sei [C 118]
Sonata VI a cinque [C 119]
Duo II [C 127]
Duo IV [C 129]
Duo V [C 130]
Sonata VII a cinque [C 120]
Sonata VIII a cinque [C 121]
Sonata IX a cinque [C 122]
Duo XI [C 136]
Duo XII [C 137]
Sonata X a cinque [C 123]
Sonata XI a cinque [C 124]
Duo I [C 126]
Duo II [C 128]
Duo VI [C 131]
Sonata XII a otto [C 125]
