In my written assignment I focused especially on the spiritual level and expression of the Mysteries in the music. The most significant feature of the Sonatas is Biber’s eccentric use of the Skordatura (‘detuning of the strings’). 15 Sonatas- 15 different tunings. You find everything between narrow, wide and extreme Skordaturas. Bright tunings with a big overtone resonance and muted/pale tunings with small or almost none overtone resonance. Is there a relation between the selected Skordatura and the context of the respective Mystery? Did Biber already create an overall atmosphere that reflects the character of the Mystery with his choice of the Skordatura?
Download master thesis
