The Revenge of Biber

I've got Biber Fever, but it ain't coming from Justin Biber.

We all recognize the name of Justin Biber, the teen idol who has somehow managed to make himself one of the most familiar faces and names in the country, despite his obvious lack of any musical creativity. By the way, if you have never heard of Just Biber, 1) you really should get out more, 2) congratulations, I am incredibly envious, and 3) I'm really sorry for introducing you to him; I honestly wouldn't blame you if you stopped reading right now. Anyway, Biber is big, a millions of people know about him.

But there's another Biber who almost no one knows about. The Biber that I'm talking about, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, came from 17th century Bohemia, played the violin and composed in several major courts of Bohemia and Italy. By many music historians he is considered the greatest violinist of the baroque period of music. He has an enormous amount of brilliant music to his name, and at the time had a large reputation as a talented violinist and composer.

So why does no one know anything about him today?

Sadly, there is very little good reason for this. A contemporary of Biber's, Arcangelo Corelli, was also well known as a violinist and composer, but did not explore the possibilities of composition as much as Biber. J.S. Bach, the man whom music was forever modeled after, studied and was highly affected by the works of Corelli, but not nearly as much (if at all) by Biber. Of course, Bach was a genius, and took the work and ideas of Corelli to a whole new level and beyond - no one can deny that. The question is, what would have happened if music had continued in lieu of Biber's musical ideas. There were some who took on his quirky style, such as J.C. Bach, and much, much later, Paul Hindemith; but otherwise his work has been thoroughly unrecognized.

Now Biber has decided to take his revenge.......BY SENDING THE ANTI-BIBER!!!

That's right, Just Biber is the anti-biber, sent here to remind us all of how we betrayed the awesomeness of Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. All we have to do is start listening to the original Biber, and maybe - just maybe - Just Biber will go away. It's a rough theory, but it's worth a try! So let's get out there, get on youtube, get on itunes, and start listening to Biber! If you play an instrument, start working on something by Biber. He has quite a selection of vocal, violin, and even a few trumpet works. Here is a favorite of mine to get you started. This is the Battalia suite, which Biber wrote to signify different aspects of war. It is a perfect example of his unique composition style, and how he wasn't afraid to use different sounds and counterpoints.





-Phil