Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber's "Passacaglia" in G
minor is part of a group of pieces composed either for
the Archbishop of Salzburg, Maximilian Gandolph, Count
Khüenburg (Biber's employer) or the Salzburg
Confraternity of the Rosary. Finished probably in 1676,
the bulk of the pieces are violin sonatas on the 15
mysteries of the rosary and are among the most
important scordatura works ever written for the
violin.
The basis of the Passacaglia is a descending
tetrachord: G, F, E flat, D...(+)
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber's "Passacaglia" in G
minor is part of a group of pieces composed either for
the Archbishop of Salzburg, Maximilian Gandolph, Count
Khüenburg (Biber's employer) or the Salzburg
Confraternity of the Rosary. Finished probably in 1676,
the bulk of the pieces are violin sonatas on the 15
mysteries of the rosary and are among the most
important scordatura works ever written for the
violin.
The basis of the Passacaglia is a descending
tetrachord: G, F, E flat, D. Many such pieces are built
on descending tetrachords, but in this case it may
constitute a reference. In the original publication the
piece is headed by an illustration of the what is
called the Guardian Angel, in this case appearing to a
small child. The Passacaglia's opening four notes,
which become its bass pattern, may refer to the
traditional hymn to the Guardian Angel, "Einen Engel
Gott mir geben" (God, Give Me an Angel), which has a
similar tune and was published in 1666.
Sixty-five statements of the descending tetrachord
support variations in this continuously developing
work. After 30 statements at the opening pitch level,
the motive moves up an octave for 15 statements, then
back down to the original level for the last 20. This
pattern, however, does not delineate the structure of
the piece. Five sections of similar length are marked
off by appearances of the descending tetrachord played
alone, grouping the variations thusly: 1-9, 10-19,
20-36, 37-50, and 51-65.
Generally, the notes of the Passacaglia theme sustain
while variations occur above them, requiring great
skill on the part of the player. For some of the
variations, particularly those with figures that rocket
rapidly skyward, Biber does not sustain the notes of
the theme, allowing the player ample time to execute
the flourishes. Over the constantly sounding theme,
Biber creates a series of contrasting variations of
various moods before closing the piece by outlining a G
major triad. It is one of the best works for solo
violin before those of J.S. Bach.
Although this piece was originally written for Violin,
I created this arrangement for Solo Marimba.
PARTITION