A century before Mozart became the enfant terrible of Salzburg--as an instrumental virtuoso and a composer of masses for the town cathedral--Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber was making waves in Austria by writing sumptuous music for strings, brass, and massive choruses. His spectacular, hitherto unpublished mass setting, Missa Christi resurgentis, was first heard in Salzburg Cathedral at Easter in 1674. The score has resided in the library of the bishop's residence in Kromeríž in central Moravia along with much of Biber's oeuvre. It's been newly edited and this broadcast performance by the New York Collegium, with the American Boychoir, marks its modern-day premiere. Andrew Parrott conducts.

Evening Music
Sunday, April 6 at 7pm on 93.9 FM
On recordings, Biber seems to be coming into his own lately. In advance of this broadcast, Evening Music will present a pair of recent Biber CDs that are especially remarkable:

Battalia and Requiem/Jordi Savall (Alia Vox 9825)
Biber's Requiem in A Major was most likely written for the funeral of his employer, Archbishop Maximilian of Salzburg. Not your usual funereal dirge, it is a celebratory piece, featuring a phalanx of trumpets, drums, and timpani (the latter added by Savall).
Available at Amazon.com
More about Jordi Savall

Unam Ceylum with John Halloway, violin (ECM 1791)
Biber's Sonatas for Violin and Continuo have long been a favorite of Baroque specialists. It's no wonder, as they're full of dazzling technical effects and unexpected turns. Here, Baroque violinist John Holloway rescues several Biber sonatas from undeserved obscurity.
More about this disc
Available at Amazon.com

Additional Resources:
More about the New York Collegium Performance
More about Biber