This recording of the Rosary (or Mystery) sonatas is very good, but it lacks the better sound quality of Manze's other recording for Harmonia Mundi with the group Romanesca. That issue is not available on emusic, but is probably worth the additional money. Try this version, and if you really like it, invest in the better recording later.
...but isn't the official review attached to this album actually for another Biber album on emusic: the Missa Christi Resurgentis? I mean, it MENTIONS his violin work at the beginning but the focus is on the mass. What gives?
The Rosary Sonatas (also called the "Mystery" sonatas) are for Violin & continuo, or violin solo. They can be hard if you are not "into" Baroque & pre-Baroque music. I once listened to an FM broadcast where the announcer was so not "into" this music that he audibly shuddered as he announced that the awful stuff was finally over. If you hate the Bach Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin you will hate this too. This is a great performance of great music. But don’t feel you need to listen to it all at once. With “difficult” music I like to build a play list that intersperses the difficult music with something “easier”. Some sonatas, a concerto, more sonatas, maybe a cantata, more sonatas, etc. Sometimes the greatest pleasure needs a little effort.
