Sonatae Tam Aris, Quam Aulis Servientes

The Salzburg court conductor Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber is known today as a composer of excellent violin literature. His works are appreciated by violinists for their great artistry and virtuosity. Max Gandolf, the art-minded prince archbishop of Salzburg, also appreciated the violin virtuoso at the time and brought Biber to his court. In public, Biber was mainly active at the cathedral in Salzburg, but Baroque splendour and representation were also in demand at the nearby residence: the same festive instrumental music was heard in the liturgy as well as at courtly ceremonies and banquets. Biber's collection of twelve magnificent sonatas therefore bears the title "Sonatæ Tam Aris, quam Aulis Servientes" - "to be used both at the altars and in the banquet halls". The instrumentation of strings with two trumpets indicate festive occasions in the presence of the prince - in Salzburg it was customary for two trumpeters to blow fanfare pieces during the princely table in the Residenzhof. The twelve short trumpet duets from Biber's pen, which the Ensemble Harmonie Universelle placed between the twelve princely sonatas, are probably also related to this.