The Mystery Sonatas (disk 1)  (53:29)
	01	I The Annunciation						04:44
	02	II The Visitation						05:55
	03	III The Nativity						05:36
	04	IV The Presentation						07:45
	05	V The Finding in the Temple						07:40
	06	VI The Agony in the Garden						07:09
	07	VII The Scourging of Jesus						08:40
	08	VIII The Crowning of Jesus with Thorns						06:00
The Mystery Sonatas (disk 2)  (60:04)
	01	IX Jesus Carries His Cross						05:52
	02	X The Crucifixion						08:16
	03	XI The Resurrection						06:32
	04	XII The Ascension						07:41
	05	XIII The Descent of the Holy Ghost						07:07
	06	XIV The Assumption of our Lady						08:08
	07	XV The Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary						09:46
	08	Passacaglia						06:42

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber Die Rosenkranz-Sonaten musica antiqua koln Reinhard Goebel


Performers: Reinhard Goebel (violin); Phoebe Carrai (cello); Konrad Junghanel (lute); Andreas Spering (harpsichord, organ).

Recording date: 1/1990.

Comments: This is the last recording of Reinhard Goebel as a violin player before the laming of his left hand. However, after ten years as a left-hand viol and violin player, today he plays again as solo right-handed violin player.
Maurizio Frigeni

Although Biber's Rosary Sonatas were never published during his lifetime, they represent one of the finest German violin collections of the period. There is a good deal of formal variety between the different sonatas, as well as a wide range of scordatura tuning. The latter makes these Sonatas especially fascinating to us today.



Mystery Sonatas (16), for violin & basso continuo (or solo violin), C. 90-105
Composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Genre Violin with Keyboard
Composition Date 1676

Description
After working in Moravia and Styria, Bohemian-born Heinrich Ignaz von Biber (1644 - 1704) was appointed Kapellmeister to the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg in either 1670 or 1671. By that time he was the most famous violin virtuoso in Europe, particularly renowned for his mastery of the art of scordatura, a method which involved tuning the violin to different notes to obtain unusual chords or alter the tonal color of the music.
It was for his own instrument that Biber composed his greatest instrumental work, the so-called "Mystery" or "Rosary" Sonatas. A beautifully prepared presentation copy shows that the sonatas were dedicated to the archbishop, Biber adding that he has consecrated them to the 15 sacred mysteries "which you promote so strongly." This is a reference to the recently installed archbishop's espousal of the influential Salzburg Confraternity of the Rosary. The mysteries are divided into three sections, "The Five Joyful Mysteries," concerned with the events of the birth of Christ, "The Five Sorrowful Mysteries," which cover the Passion, and "The Five Glorious Mysteries" dealing with the Resurrection, and Assumption and coronation of the Virgin. Each of these 15 topics was set by Biber as a sonata for violin and bass continuo consisting of from three to five movements. As was common practice with groups of sonatas in the seventeenth century, the whole is concluded by a large-scale passacaglia which stands outside the sonatas as a separate movement. In common with other instrumental works of Biber's, the music is programmatic, with Biber using scordatura technique in all but the opening sonata and the final Passacaglia (which are tuned in the normal way, G, D, A, E) to produce a range of striking coloristic effects. Thus in the opening sonata, "The Annunciation," the fluttering of Gabriel's wings as he appears to Mary is vividly evoked high in the violin's register, while the Praeludium of Sonata 10, "The Crucifixion" (tuned G, D, A, D) features not only harsh chords depicting the hammer blows of the nails into the Cross, but a contrasting theme of ineffable bittersweetness expressive of the suffering before redemption. Another extraordinary piece of scordatura tuning (A flat, E flat, G, D) is responsible for the veiled sound given to the violin in Sonata 6, "The Sweating of Blood," which deals with Christ's agonizing in the nocturnal setting of the Garden of Gethsemane. The "Mystery" Sonatas represent a unique contribution to the violin repertoire, works that in their technical and interpretative demands still represent a formidable challenge to even today's finest players. -- Brian Robins




Musica Antiqua Koln
Birth 1973

Biography
Reinhard Goebel founded Musica Antiqua Koln in 1973. The ensemble devoted itself to playing Baroque music on period instruments, with a particular penchant for playing neglected or overlooked repertoire. Many of their best albums have sold well without featuring music by well-known composers. These releases also appear to have boosted the (posthumous) careers of composers such as Heinichen, with their concerti album from 1993, and the Veracini Overture album from 1994. Goebel has not only shown courage in programming unconventional repertoire, but has also been known to take risks in his approach to relatively well-known works. For instance, his ensemble plays the last movement of Bach's third Brandenburg concerto at a then unrivaled, break-neck tempo. Furthermore, Goebel had sound musicological evidence that the piece should be played that way.
The original core ensemble included Reinhard Goebel and Hajo Bass on violin, with Eva Bartos on viola da gamba. However, the constituency of the ensemble has changed over the years, with only Reinhard Goebel remaining constant. Eva Bartos only appears on Musica Antiqua Koln recordings until 1977, and was replaced by Jonathan Cable and Charles Medlam. By 1980, Jap ter Linden appears most frequently as either cellist or gambist, and by the mid 1980s, he is replaced again by Phoebe Carrai. Goebel's partners on violin have included Hajo Bass, Manfredo Kremer, and Florian Deuter among others. Many players who have left the ensemble have enjoyed spectacular careers afterward, including the harpsichordists Andreas Staier, Robert Hill, the violinists Hajo Bass and Manfredo Kremer, as well as Charles Medlam, and Jap ter Linden playing bowed bass instruments, and Wilbert Hazelzet playing flute.

In 1990, Goebel developed tendinitis and was forced to abandon his solo playing career. The last album in which he played as a soloist was his 1990 recording of the Rosenkranz sonatas by Heinrich Biber. After 1990, he continued to direct the ensemble, and eventually returned in a limited capacity by playing his violin left handed. The ensemble continues to tour and record very actively, but their best work came from the period before Goebel injured himself. -- Andrus Madsen