Rosenkranzsonnaten

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, the Bohemian composer, completed his 15 short sonatas for violin and basso continuo (the bass part, normally played by a keyboard instrument and a cello or lute) with a final passacaglia for solo violin, probably in 1674. Entitled the Rosary Sonatas, it is also known as the Mystery Sonatas or the Copper-Engraving Sonatas. Biber termed it ‘mystery’ in a religious sense as in the 15 mysteries of the Catholic rosary, and ‘copper-engraving’ refers to pictures of the Stations of the Cross tooled onto copper plates. When the manuscript was discovered in the Bavarian State Library in Munich, it had no title page, but was dedicated to his employer at the time, Archbishop Gandolph of Salzburg, Austria. However, they remained unknown till its publication in 1905. The work is prized for its virtuosic violin articulation, atypical tunings and its programme structure. 
 
These are four introductory albums:
Rosary Sonatas, Rachel Podger. Label: Channel Classics.
 
Biber Mystery Sonatas Rosenkranz-Sonaten, Mayumi Hirasaki. Label: Deutschlandfunk.
 
Biber The Rosary Sonatas, Andrew Manze with Richard Egarr. Label: Harmonia Mundi.
 
Biber Rosenkrantz Sonaten Mystery Sonatas, Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch with Battalia. Label: Ondine.

Reference: Schwarm, B., (2013, August 9), Mystery Sonatas, Britannica. 
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mystery-Sonatas