Two requiems

Death and solace, stillness and surprise: in Biber’s requiems, we do not hear the thunder of judgement, but glimmers of hope, clear lines and unexpectedly soft edges. In this performance, the international vocal phenomenon Vox Luminis lets the music breathe. This is baroque without obscuring frills: simple and radiantly clear, almost tangible, and so powerful that the music shines through the darkness.

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704) is best known as the unrivalled violin virtuoso of his time and as Mozart’s predecessor at the Archbishop’s court in Salzburg. There, during his appointment as Kapellmeister, Biber wrote his Requiem in F minor, full of penetrating solos and sorrowful choral sections. His Requiem in A major, written for his friend Archbishop Gandolph of Khuenburg, was performed in Salzburg Cathedral.