There can be no stranger scordatura than the one used for the Resurrection. The two middle strings are switched around behind the bridge and inside the pegbox so that for the entire sounding length of the strings they are the other way around. The resonances which result are unearthly but beautifully apt for the description of sunrise on Easter Morning. After the Easter sunrise and the meeting with the angel whose countenance was like lightning and his raiment as white as snow, the great medieval Easter plainchant Surrexit Chritus hodie takes over with the unique scordatura achieving an other-worldly sonority. The Ascension and Pentecost inspire equally impressive and extraordinary music, but the last two Sonatas where Biber can concentrate on his vision of Mary unimpeded by the Gospel story with a Praeludium e Ciacona result in music of stunning beauty and tenderness and warmth.
