After working in Moravia and Styria, Bohemian-born Heinrich Ignaz von Biber (1644-1704) was appointed Kapellmeister to the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg in either 1670 or 1671. By that time he was the most famous violin virtuoso in Europe, particularly renowned for his mastery of the art of scordatura, a method which involved tuning the violin to different notes to obtain unusual chords or alter the tonal color of the music.

It was for his own instrument that Biber composed his greatest instrumental work, the so-called "Mystery" or "Rosary" Sonatas. A beautifully prepared presentation copy shows that the sonatas were dedicated to the archbishop, Biber adding that he has consecrated them to the 15 sacred mysteries "which you promote so strongly." This is a reference to the recently installed archbishop's espousal of the influential Salzburg Confraternity of the Rosary. The mysteries are divided into three sections, "The Five Joyful Mysteries," concerned with the events of the birth of Christ, "The Five Sorrowful Mysteries," which cover the Passion, and "The Five Glorious Mysteries" dealing with the Resurrection, and Assumption and coronation of the Virgin. Each of these 15 topics was set by Biber as a sonata for violin and bass continuo consisting of from three to five movements. As was common practice with groups of sonatas in the seventeenth century, the whole is concluded by a large-scale passacaglia which stands outside the sonatas as a separate movement. In common with other instrumental works of Biber's, the music is programmatic, with Biber using scordatura technique in all but the opening sonata and the final Passacaglia (which are tuned in the normal way, G, D, A, E) to produce a range of striking coloristic effects. Thus in the opening sonata, "The Annunciation," the fluttering of Gabriel's wings as he appears to Mary is vividly evoked high in the violin's register, while the Praeludium of Sonata 10, "The Crucifixion" (tuned G, D, A, D) features not only harsh chords depicting the hammer blows of the nails into the Cross, but a contrasting theme of ineffable bittersweetness expressive of the suffering before redemption. Another extraordinary piece of scordatura tuning (A flat, E flat, G, D) is responsible for the veiled sound given to the violin in Sonata 6, "The Sweating of Blood," which deals with Christ's agonizing in the nocturnal setting of the Garden of Gethsemane. The "Mystery" Sonatas represent a unique contribution to the violin repertoire, works that in their technical and interpretative demands still represent a formidable challenge to even today's finest players.

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Biber's Passacaglia in G minor is part of a group of pieces composed either for the Archbishop of Salzburg, Maximilian Gandolph, Count Khüenburg (Biber's employer) or the Salzburg Confraternity of the Rosary. Finished probably in 1676, the bulk of the pieces are violin sonatas on the 15 mysteries of the rosary and are among the most important scordatura works ever written for the violin.

The Passacaglia in G minor is one of the only works in the collection that requires the standard tuning (open strings on G, D, A and E). The basis of the Passacaglia is a descending tetrachord: G, F, E flat, D. Many such pieces are built on descending tetrachords, but in this case it may constitute a reference. In the original publication the piece is headed by an illustration of the what is called the Guardian Angel, in this case appearing to a small child. The Passacaglia's opening four notes, which become its bass pattern, may refer to the traditional hymn to the Guardian Angel, "Einen Engel Gott mir geben" (God, Give Me an Angel), which has a similar tune and was published in 1666.

Sixty-five statements of the descending tetrachord support variations in this continuously developing work. After 30 statements at the opening pitch level, the motive moves up an octave for 15 statements, then back down to the original level for the last 20. This pattern, however, does not delineate the structure of the piece. Five sections of similar length are marked off by appearances of the descending tetrachord played alone, grouping the variations thusly: 1-9, 10-19, 20-36, 37-50, and 51-65.

Generally, the notes of the Passacaglia theme sustain while variations occur above them, requiring great skill on the part of the player. For some of the variations, particularly those with figures that rocket rapidly skyward, Biber does not sustain the notes of the theme, allowing the player ample time to execute the flourishes. Over the constantly sounding theme, Biber creates a series of contrasting variations of various moods before closing the piece by outlining a G major triad. It is one of the best works for solo violin before those of J.S. Bach.

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