Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644-1704)
- Missa Salisburgensis à 53 (1682)
Performers: Collegium Vocale 1704; Václav Luks (conductor)
Engraving: I. P. Wolff (?) - Salzburg (c.1730)
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Bohemian composer and violinist. Few details of his musical education
survive, but sometime before 1668, he was in the service of Prince
Johann Seyfried Eggenberg of Graz. In 1670 he settled in Salzburg as a
member of the archbishop's Kapelle, where he was made Vice-Kapellmeister
in 1679 and Kapellmeister in 1684. Biber’s career flourished in
Salzburg and in 1690 he was ennobled by Emperor Leopold I. He was a
remarkable composer of both secular and sacred music, and was a virtuoso
violinist who excelled in scordatura. His Mystery and Rosary Sonatas
for Violin and Continuo (c.1676), composed as postludes for the services
of the Rosary Mysteries at Salzburg Cathedral, are notable examples of
scordatura. His 8 sonatas for Solo Violin and Continuo (1681) are also
fine scores. Among his other chamber works are 2 collections of music
for 1 or 2 Violins, 2 Violas, and Bass (1680, 1683). He also published a
collection of music for Trumpets and Strings (1676). Among his finest
sacred works are the 32-part Vesperae (1693), the Missa Sancti Henrici
(1701), the 36-part Missa Alleluja, and the Requiems in A major and F
minor. An anonymous 53-part Missa salisburgensis (1682) has recently
attributed to him. He also wrote the operas Chi la dura la vince (1687),
Alessandro in Pietra (1689; not extant), and L'ossequio di Salisburgo
(1699; not extant), as well as several school dramas. Biber had 11
children, only four of whom survived childhood: his sons Anton Heinrich
Biber (1679-1742) and Karl Heinrich Biber (1681-1749) and his daughters
Maria Cäcilia Biber (b.1674) and Anna Magdalena Biber (1677-1742). They
were all musically gifted and received a good musical education from
their father.
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