Rosenkranz-Sonaten = Sonatas Of The Rosary = Sonates Du Rosaire

The Rosary Sonatas were composed by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber around 1676, likely intended for devotional use within the cathedral of Salzburg. The set of fifteen sonatas, along with a concluding passacaglia, serves as a musical meditation on the mysteries of the Virgin Mary. The composition is noted for its pioneering use of scordatura, a technique where the violin strings are tuned to non-standard pitches, allowing for unique harmonic resonances and technically demanding double-stopping that would otherwise be impossible on a standard instrument.

This Archiv Produktion recording, catalog number MA 5010/11, features an ensemble led by violinist Eduard Melkus, joined by Huguette Dreyfus on harpsichord, Lionel Rogg on organ, and Karl Scheit on lute. Released in the late 1960s, the recording was part of the label's commitment to historically informed performance practices. It was widely praised by critics of the era for its rigorous attention to seventeenth-century performance conventions and for introducing a broader audience to the visceral, programmatic intensity of Biber’s complex violin writing.