Biber's violin music was possibly influenced, on one hand, by the Italian tradition of
Marco Uccellini and
Carlo Farina, and on the other, by the then-nascent German polyphonic tradition as exemplified by
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, who may have been Biber's teacher. Biber's achievements included further development of violin technique – he was able to reach the 6th and 7th
positions, and his left-hand and bowing techniques were far more advanced than those of contemporary Italian composers. He also excelled at counterpoint, frequently writing fully polyphonic textures, with much use of
multiple stops. Yet another area in which Biber made a substantial contribution was the art of
scordatura, i.e. music for alternative tunings of the instrument. Finally, much of Biber's music employs various forms of
number symbolism,
affekte, programmatic devices, etc., as seen in the symbolic retuning of the violin for the Resurrection sonata of the
Mystery Sonatas. During the latter half of the 17th century Biber was, together with the composers of the Dresden school (
Johann Jakob Walther and
Johann Paul von Westhoff), regarded as one of the best and most influential violinists in Europe. However, soon after his death, German violinists started following the style of
Arcangelo Corelli and his imitators.
Instrumental music Biber's finest scordatura writing is represented in two collections. The first dates from c. 1676 and is known variously as
Mystery Sonatas,
Rosary Sonatas (
Mysterien Sonaten,
Die Rosenkranz-Sonaten),
Copper-Plate Engraving Sonatas, etc., The second work in which Biber explored scordatura techniques is
Harmonia artificioso-ariosa (1696), his last known published collection of instrumental music. It contains seven partitas for two instruments and basso continuo: five for two violins, one for two
violas d'amore, and one for violin and viola. Six of the partitas require scordatura tunings, including those for viola and two violas d'amore; Biber uses the full potential of the technique, including all possibilities for complex polyphony: some of the pieces are in five parts, with both of the melodic instruments carrying two. No other chamber works by Biber use such devices, and the only other pieces to use scordatura are two of the sonatas included in
Sonatae violino solo of 1681. That collection comprises eight sonatas for violin and basso continuo, all noted already by
Charles Burney in the late 18th century, for the brilliant virtuosic passages and elaborate structures. In contrast to both
Mystery Sonatas and
Harmonia, these works consist mostly of pieces in free forms (prelude, aria) or variations, rather than dances. Biber's other published collections of instrumental music are
Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes (1676),
Mensa sonora (1680), and
Fidicinium sacro profanum (1682/3).
Sonatae tam aris contains sonatas in five, six or eight parts; some of them only use string instruments, some include one or two trumpets.
Mensa sonora is a set of six partitas for one or two violins, viola, cello, and basso continuo, and
Fidicinium sacro profanum comprises twelve sonatas for one or two violins, two violas, and continuo. Finally, manuscript sources include numerous other pieces: fantasias, balletti, sonatas, etc. Among these are the
Battalia, a programmatic "battle" piece which anticipates such latter-day techniques as
polytonality and
col legno playing, and the
Sonata representativa, another typical 17th-century piece similar to works by Walther and Farina, which imitates various birds and animals. An example of Biber's versatility in instrumental music is the
Sonata S Polycarpi, which is scored for eight trumpets and timpani.
Sacred music Unlike most composers for the violin, Biber did not limit himself to music for the instrument. He was also a prolific composer of sacred vocal works:
masses,
requiems,
motets, etc. Many of those were polychoral and employing large instrumental forces, inspired by the possibilities of the spacious interior of the
Salzburg Cathedral. Among the polychoral works,
Missa Salisburgensis (1682) is the best known. An expansive setting of the mass for sixteen voices and 37 instrumentalists (i.e. 53 parts total), it was previously attributed to
Orazio Benevoli, but today Biber's authorship is certain. The instrumentation includes not only string ensembles, but also oboes,
cornetts, trumpets, and
timpani. Among his many polychoral works are
Plaudite tympana à 53 (1682)
Vesperae à 32 (1693),
Missa Bruxellensis (1696) and
Missa Sancti Henrici (1697), which was composed for the occasion of the taking of the veil by his second daughter, Anna Magdalena, at
Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg. In tribute to the
Emperor Henry II, the second founding saint of the
convent, she took the name Maria Rosa Henrica when her
novitiate began in 1696. The Mass of Saint Henry is scored for a five-voice choir with two soprano lines and an orchestra of two violins, three violas, two trumpets,
timpani and continuo, with optional extra trumpets and
sackbuts to double the voice parts. Although Biber is best known for the massive polychoral works, he was also capable of writing for smaller forces.
Missa quadragesimalis is a simple
a cappella setting (with only a continuo part provided) for four voices, as is the
Stabat Mater. == List of works ==