Chandos Records

Chandos offer several fine recordings of Biber's music: Mensa Sonora is a collection of much lighter music than the Rosenkranz Sonatas but equally well crafted. With the Sonata in A for violin, violone and harpsichord it's very well performed by the Purcell Quartet and Jane Rogers (viola) on CHANDOS CHAN0748 [58:55] - from theclassicalshop.net, mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless, with pdf booklet. The cumbersome-looking Latin title Sonat tam aris, quam aulis servientes simply indicates music suitable for sacred and secular use. There are five current recordings of the complete set of twelve sonatas, among which the budget set on Hyperion Helios stands out for price and quality. ( CDH55041 [58:34] - from hyperion-records.co.uk, mp3 and lossless, with pdf booklet). Otherwise there's little to choose between that recording and its rival from the Purcell Quartet on Chandos CHAN0591 [65:34] - from theclassicalshop.net, mp3 and lossless, with pdf booklet. 1 Yet another version, which I missed earlier this year, is listed in Brief Reviews below.