Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: The Mystery Sonatas

The lesson opens with a lengthy discussion on scordatura, the reasons for it, problems associated with it, and advice on how to cope with it. There is a section on symbolism and the Jesuits, their relevance to Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber personally and to the performance of the sonatas. The text is intermingled with quotations from the New Testament and connections established between the two. The rhetorical fragments in a single line are identified and described in detail as an example of how to seek out and dramatize the rhetorical meaning of the music. Objective truth in this kind of activity does not exist: to each person, a fragment may elicit different reactions entirely, but if the images or feelings conjured up by the informed imagination are successfully transformed into sound, the interpretation will be all the stronger and more authentic. Theological, historical, rhetorical, interpretive, and technical information are here in abundance.