BIBER Mystery Sonatas
$26.00
NEW RELEASE
Debuted at #2 on Billboard Classical Chart
The young virtuoso violinist Alan Choo makes his solo album debut in this imaginative recording with GRAMMY®-winning ensemble Apollo’s Fire and artistic director Jeannette Sorrell. Choo brings soulful virtuosity, gorgeous sound, and emotional depth to Biber’s mysterious masterpiece. Each sonata in the cycle represents a chapter in the life of Christ, but the composer provided only an engraved image at the beginning of each piece to hint at which story is represented. Choo and the Apollo’s Fire musicians delve into the story with fierce commitment. Unlike other recordings of this work, Apollo’s Fire offers an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colorful continuo instruments, with Sorrell at the harpsichord leading five colleagues on cello, viola da gamba, lirone, theorbo, archlute, and baroque harp. “Expressive fervor and exuberance” (BBC Music Magazine, 5-star review)
“Alan Choo has overlooked little in matters of expressive fervour, conveying exuberance… while projecting dissonant melancholy… well served by a pleasingly colourful continuo. Choo has found a persuasive middle road with a satisfying result.”
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE (5-STAR REVIEW)
“[Alan Choo] demonstrates commendable technical bravura in realising effectively Biber’s unique musical language and offers expressive, dramatic accounts of these sonatas… He shapes phrases gracefully…and gives a compelling sense of architecture to movements… His extempore ornamentation is tastefully done, and he varies repeated sections with imagination and dexterity, and uses dynamic contrast and subtleties of articulation, rubato and timing to enhance the theatricality of his interpretations. Sensitivity to programmatic elements is especially demonstrated…”
THE STRAD [read the full review]
“[Alan Choo’s] playing is extraordinary — as fresh and improvisatory as though he were composing each sonata on the spot, but also infused with an infectious emotional ardor. This recording should be treasured by fans of early Baroque music.”
CLEVELANDCLASSICAL.COM
“[Alan Choo] masterfully inhabits the storytelling, with perfect intonation and accomplished ornamentation… Most successful are the Descent of the Holy Spirit, with admirably precise double-stops, and the fifteenth sonata which is wonderfully suited to the sumptuous aesthetic… The four plucked instruments and three strings bass, supplemented by an organ and percussion, color the speech with remarkable discernment. We are seduced by the scope of the prelude to The Annunciation and the stylized savagery of The Crucifixion. [The album] ranks in the leading group for its exceptional instrumental qualities.”
CLASSICA MAGAZINE (FRANCE)
“Choo, along with Sorrell’s direction, has produced a record that has its own artistic voice, and one that is viable and beautiful… With this album, Sorrell and her band have moved into an enviable first-class position. While Choo is the star, the overall concept is one that depends upon a menagerie of players playing in close consort. The overall effect works splendidly to amplify the emotional potential of this music. Highly recommended; this is an achievement.”
BIBERFAN.ORG [read the full review]
“Choo is up to the challenge of the Mysteries, playing with the passion, fire, and brio called for to infuse these sacred pieces with the life they deserve. Creatively equipoise, Sorrell’s sensitive programming of accompaniment is inspired.”
WILD MERCURY RHYTHM [read the full review]
“Alan Choo, Jeannette Sorrell and the members of Apollo’s Fire, using period instruments and with a firm understanding of historical performance practices and the expectations of Biber’s time, handle the sonatas in such a well-considered manner that the music’s emotional depth comes through clearly even for listeners of different faiths or none at all. The performers’ meticulous attention to appropriate instruments and techniques gives the sonatas a sense of both solidity in instrumentation and evanescence in their contemplative qualities – a remarkable and very effective combination. The sensitive, understanding playing of Apollo’s Fire ensures that even after nearly 350 years, the emotions and spiritual uplift of the story illustrated by this music have been ‘ne’er so well express’d.’”
INFODAD.COM [read the full review]
