5 things to know about Biber’s Rosary Sonatas

But what makes them so difficult to play, and why were they not performed for so long? The answer to these, and a few other questions about these remarkable compositions, can be found here.

They’re not always called the Rosary Sonatas

As well as The Rosary Sonatas, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber’s collection of 15 short sonatas for violin and continuo – with a final passacaglia for solo violin – are also known as The Mystery Sonatas, or The Copper-Engraving Sonatas. The latter name comes from the fact that each sonata has, instead of a title, a copper-engraved vignette.

It’s not known exactly when they were completed

Born in Stráž pod Ralskem, now part of the Czech Republic, in 1644, Biber was a well established composer in the latter half of the 17th century, considered among the very best of the period. But he was also an incredibly proficient violinist, so proficient that often the technical skill required for his violin sonatas was such that only he was able to play them. The Rosary Sonatas in particular include very rapid passages, demanding double stops and an extended range beyond the technical ability of other violinists of the time. Having been rarely, if ever, played at the time of their composition the original and only manuscript for the pieces sat in the Bavarian State Library in Munich undiscovered for some time, and as there is no title page neither their full title, nor their year of composition is known, although it is believed they were completed around 1676.

They are arguably the most challenging of all Baroque violin works

Because Biber was such a talented violinist  it is no surprise that his violin works are challenging, but the Rosary Sonatas reach into territories far beyond the reach of his contemporaries. The key reason for this is the composer’s use of scordatura, that is retuning of the violin in an atypical way for each sonata, meaning no two of the Rosary Sonatas see the violin tuned to the same notes. Biber does this to create unusual blends of tones through the process of double-stops, where the player draws the bow across two adjacent strings simultaneously. 

They were first published 200 years after Biber’s death

Biber died in Salzburg, aged 59, in 1704, but it was another two centuries until his Rosary Sonatas were finally seen or heard. Having been discovered in the Bavarian State Library in 1890, the Rosary Sonatas were finally published for the first time in 1905. Their publication prompted a renaissance for Biber’s compositions, and the Rosary Sonatas in particular quickly became the composer’s most famous work.

Each sonata connects with one of the spoken prayers of the rosary

The 15 sonatas are grouped into three sets of five, five joyful mysteries, five sorrowful mysteries and five glorious mysteries, matching with the spoken prayers of the rosary. However, despite this connection they do not tell the stories in an obvious way, with conflicting emotions often evident in each sonata. The works were dedicated to Biber’s employer at the time, the Archbishop Maximilian Gandolph, who was a member of Slazburg’s Confraternity of the Rosary. The composer’s preface to the works reads, ‘I have consecrated the whole to the honour of the XV Sacred Mysteries, which you promote so strongly’.

On 22 January 2023, Daniel Pioro and James McVinnie (above) came together at the Southbank Centre for a day-long, three-part journey through Biber’s Rosary Sonatas. Taking place in the various spaces of our Queen Elizabeth Hall, the three one-hour concert performances were timed to interact with the changing light of the day.

The first performance featured the five ‘Joyful Mystery’ Rosary Sonatas, and began at 8am; timed to coincide with the sun rising over London, and the first rays of light catching the River Thames and entering the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer’s windows as the city emerges from slumber.

At midday we moved into the dark of the Purcell Room, the change in surroundings chosen to evoke the enclosed sorrow and agony of the second set of sonatas, the ‘Sorrowful Mysteries’.

And at 4pm we returned to the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer for the third and final set, the ‘Glorious Mysteries’. As we listened to these five works, darkness drew in as the sun set over London in the West, bringing a natural darkness, free of pain and anguish.