Hot pants make a comeback in the graphics for this recording of
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
's
Mystery Sonatas
, a cycle of connected violin works that collectively depict the Passion of Jesus Christ and the Ascension of Mary. These are fearsomely virtuosic works that demand the retuning of the violin for each sonata; violinist
Amandine Beyer
, sparsely accompanied by her
Gli Incogniti
group in continuo settings, like most violinists, uses several violins. The
Sonata No. 10 in G minor
, representing the Crucifixion, even requires the player to symbolically cross the two central strings of the violin. In the general run of performances, the
seem part of the dramatic, irregular, expressive 17th century (they were composed around 1675). The hot pants may thus seem an unusual choice, but looked at another way, so was
Biber
's choice of French dance rhythms for much of the material.
Beyer
, who conceived this performance in conjunction with a dance presentation, takes the music in a new direction, emphasizing these dance rhythms in a bright, lively performance. This pushes the music in the direction of
Bach
, in whose music, the interpenetration of sacred and secular is often the entire point.
's readings of
's individual movements are strongly characterized; the music is not a blow-by-blow representation of events, but in her hands, it is vivid enough, and there is no question that she has the technical chops to handle the music's challenges. This is an unusually compelling and engaging set of
, brilliantly performed, and it hit classical best-seller charts in early 2023. ~ James Manheim