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Biber Rosary Sonatas on CD

Recordings of the Mystery of the Rosary Sonatas.

Rosary Sonatas, Pavlo Beznosiuk
Pavlo Beznosiuk, violins
David Roblou, Harpsichord, chamber organ
Paula Chateauneuf, Theorbo, archlute
Richard Tunnicliffe, Viola da Gamba, Violone
Timothy West, Reader
Recorded 30 Nov to 4 Dec 2003, St Andrew's Church, Toddington, Gloucestershire
AVIE AV 0038 [2 CDs: 79.47 + 77.18]

Biber's Rosary Sonatas, Andrew Manze
Andrew Manze, violin
Richard Egarr, cembalo, organ
Allison Mcgillivray, Cello
Copyright: 2004
Harmonia Mundi HMU 907321.22 2 CDs

Biber's Rosary Sonatas, Walter Reiter, Cordaria
Walter Reiter, violin
Timothy Roberts, cembalo, organ
Elizabeth Kenny, Theorbo
Joanna Levine, Cello, Viola da gamba
Frances Kelly, Double harp
Mark Levy, Lirone
Kah-Ming Ng, Regal
Copyright: January 29, 2002, Signum UK 2 CDs

Biber's Rosary Sonatas, Reinhard Goebel
Reinhard Goebel, violin
Andreas Spering, harpsichord, organ
Konrad Junghänel, lute
Phoebe Carrai, Cello
Recorded: January, 1990
Signum UK 2 CDs

Of the four performances, the one by Andrew Manze is the most sparsely instrumented. It is close to solo violin performance, and the music has an edge I enjoy that the other recitals lack.

Walter Reiter, with Cordaria, is the most richly arranged, one might almost say orchestrated. The tempos are a bit slower, allowing the music its full voice. So far, this is my favorite.

Here are mp3 and QT files of the first few phrases from each of the recordings. These are large files so be patient.

Pavlo Beznosiuk QT file: 1.3 MB

Pavlo Beznosiuk mp3 file: 1.3 MB

Andrew Manze QT file: 1.6 MB

Andrew Manze mp3 file: 1.6 MB

Walter Reiter, Cordaria QT file: 1.7 MB

Walter Reiter, Cordaria mp3 file: 1.7 MB

Reinhard Goebel, Musica Antiqua Köln QT file: 1 MB

Reinhard Goebel, Musica Antiqua Köln mp3 file: 1 MB

This table compares the instrumentation of the performances.

Sonata	Beznosiuk	Manze	Reiter	Goebel	Violin Pitch
1 Annunciation	Violin Chamber Organ Theorbo	Violin Baroque Organ	Violin Chamber Organ Theorbo Double Harp	Violin Organ Lute Cello	G D A E
2 Visitation	Violin Harpsichord Viola da Gamba	Violin Harpsichord	Violin Harpsichord Viola da Gamba	Violin Cembalo Cello	A E A E
3 Nativity	Violin Archlute Viola da Gamba	Violin Harpsichord	Violin Theorbo Double Harp	Violin Cembalo	B F# B D
4 Presentation in the Temple	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo	Violin Baroque Organ	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo	Violin Organ Lute Cello	A D A C#
5 The Finding in the Temple	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo Viola da Gamba	Violin Harpsichord	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo	Violin Cembalo Cello	A E A C#
6 Agony in the Garden	Violin Chamber Organ Archlute	Violin Baroque Organ	Violin Chamber Organ Theorbo	Violin Organ Cello	Ab Eb G D
7 Scourging	Violin Viola da Gamba	Violin Baroque Organ	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo	Violin Cembalo Cello	C F A C
8 Crowning with Thorns	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo Viola da Gamba	Violin Harpsichord	Violin Chamber Organ Regal Viola da Gamba	Violin Organ Cello	D F Bb D
9 Carrying of the Cross	Violin Chamber Organ Theorbo	Violin Baroque Organ	Violin Chamber Organ Theorbo Lirone	Violin Organ Lute Cello	C E A E
10 Crucifixion	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo	Violin Harpsichord	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo Cello	Violin Organ Cello	G D A D
11 Resurrection	Violin Chamber Organ Theorbo Viola da Gamba	Violin Baroque Organ	Violin Chamber Organ Harpsichord Viola da Gamba	Violin Organ Cello	G D G D
12 Ascension	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo Violone	Violin Harpsichord Cello	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo Cello	Violin Cembalo Cello	C E G C
13 Descent of the Holy Ghost	Violin Theorbo	Violin Baroque Organ	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo Cello	Violin Organ Lute Cello	A E C# E
14 Assumption of Mary	Violin Harpsichord	Violin Baroque Organ	Violin Harpsichord Theorbo Double Harp	Violin Organ Lute Cello	A E C D
15 Coronation of Mary	Violin Chamber Organ Theorbo Archlute Violone	Violin Baroque Organ	Violin Chamber Organ Theorbo Viola da Gamba Double Harp	Violin Cembalo Cello	G C G D
Guardian Angel Passacaglia	Violin	Violin	Violin	Violin	G D A E

Links: Reviews

Review of Biber recordings by W.A. Grieve-Smith

Review Beznosiuk by Jonathan Woolf

Review Beznosiuk by Peter Bright

Review Manze by American Amazon customers

Review Manze by British Amazon customers

Review Manze with other Biber sonatas

Review Reiter with Cordaria by Brian Clark and Gary Higginson

Posted by on 09/18 at 04:10 AM

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