Best Scordatura

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber’s Rosary Sonata No. 15, composed around 1676, is a significant work within his series of "Mystery Sonatas." This Austrian Baroque piece utilizes scordatura—a tuning technique that alters the violin's standard pitch—to create distinctive textures and effects. The sonata was...

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber composed this Austrian Baroque piece around 1676 for his famous Mystery Sonatas, a collection celebrated for its devotional and technical depth.

Composed circa 1676 by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, this Austrian Baroque violin sonata belongs to his renowned Mystery Sonatas and illustrates Jesus carrying the cross.

This Austrian Baroque sonata is part of the 1676 Mystery Sonatas by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, a cycle renowned for its complex scordatura and programmatic design.

Composed by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber in Austria around 1676, this piece begins the sorrowful mysteries section of his highly virtuosic Mystery Sonatas cycle.

Composed around 1676 by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, this Austrian Baroque work opens the Mystery Sonatas, a cycle depicting the joyful mysteries of the rosary.

Composed by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber around 1676 in Austria, this virtuosic work is part of the Mystery Sonatas, uniquely requiring alternate violin string tunings.

This Austrian Baroque sonata by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber is part of the 1676 Mystery Sonatas and uses a distinct scordatura tuning to depict the birth of Jesus.

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber composed this virtuosic Austrian Baroque work around 1676 as part of his monumental Mystery Sonatas, representing the crowning with thorns.

Bohemian Baroque composer and virtuoso violinist renowned for his Mystery Sonatas, which employ innovative scordatura retuning of the instrument.

This Austrian Baroque violin sonata by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber dates to around 1676 and forms part of the Marian Mystery Sonatas, depicting Christ's scourging.

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber composed this Austrian Baroque sonata around 1676 as the second work in his famous Mystery Sonatas, representing the second joyful mystery.

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber included this Austrian Baroque work in his famous 1676 Mystery Sonatas, musically portraying the finding of the young Jesus in the temple.

Biber's Rosary Sonata No. 10 'The Crucifixion' (c. 1676) closes the Sorrowful Mysteries group and is among the most harmonically intense pieces in the 15-sonata cycle.

The opening work of Heinrich Biber's Rosary Sonatas (c. 1676), depicting the Annunciation, is the only sonata in the 15-piece cycle that uses standard rather than scordatura tuning.

Composed around 1676 by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, this piece is the fourth of his notable Mystery Sonatas, illustrating the presentation of Christ at the temple.

Biber's Rosary Sonata No. 15 'The Coronation of the Virgin' (c. 1676) is the final numbered sonata in the cycle, closing the Glorious Mysteries before the set's unaccompanied passacaglia.

Biber's Rosary Sonata No. 7 'The Scourging at the Pillar' (c. 1676) is the second Sorrowful Mystery sonata, known for its intense, expressive writing with scordatura violin tuning.

Biber's Rosary Sonata No. 6 'The Agony in the Garden' (c. 1676) opens the Sorrowful Mysteries group within the 15-sonata cycle, using scordatura to evoke a penitential character.

Biber's Rosary Sonata No. 12 'The Ascension' (c. 1676) is the second Glorious Mystery in the cycle, continuing the use of scordatura within the set's concluding devotional group.

Walther's violin sonata in A major, by the German virtuoso (1650-1717) whose Scherzi musicali established new technical standards for violin playing in 17th-century German-speaking lands.