Aisha Orazbayeva is a violinist who relishes a challenge, whether in new or baroque-era music, and she set herself a big one in her Spitalfields festival recital: all 15 of Heinrich Biber’s Mystery Sonatas, finishing with his Passacaglia for solo violin. These were written in the 1670s, a time of sombre churches full of detailed carvings and gold leaf, and the Mystery Sonatas are all of that in sound. If they had to be performed in a secular setting, the dark time-capsule interior of Hoxton Hall was the perfect choice.
Each sonata, barely 10 minutes long, is inspired by a section of the Catholic Rosary devotion, evoking stories of Jesus and Mary in sometimes distinctively pictorial music: the Crucifixion has a four-note theme tracing out the points of the cross, then fierce chords as the nails are driven in. Each has the four violin strings tuned to a different set of notes – which opens up possibilities of unusual chord writing and mellow sonorities, but adds further complications, especially on a hot evening when gut strings are apt to misbehave. Orazbayeva explained that she had five violins on hand, with an assistant backstage tuning them ready for the next use.
On stage she had the unflagging support of Prach Boondiskulchok, playing either harpsichord or chamber organ. The cellist Gavin Kibble joined them for the final five sonatas.
The Resurrection was the evening’s highlight: expansive, simple and joyful, it stood out from the harmonic intricacies of the pieces around it. Earlier sonatas, especially the Nativity, had highlighted Orazbayeva and Boondiskulchok’s ear for elegant dance rhythms. The Agony in the Garden sounded strikingly poignant, full of small, glassy echoes, with the violin finally left all alone.
Orazbayeva and Boondiskulchok approached this as a marathon, not a sprint, and offered sustained attention to expressive detail without lavishing it on individual moments. From Orazbayeva, the feeling, for better and worse, was of a play-through in front of friends; pieces were finished with a quick, nervous smile rather than a pause for the last note to sink in. She is an impressive and imaginative performer of these sonatas, but she could still take more ownership of them.
Repeated 10 July at 6.30pm (Part I) and 8.30pm (Part II), tickets available separately. Details: spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk
