Biber’s Fidicinium sacro-profanum was published in Nuremberg around 1683 and contains twelve sonatas for strings and continuo. The third is scored for two violins, two violas and continuo, and is a concentrated example of Biber’s ability to extract extraordinary colour and intensity from a relatively small ensemble. The title Fidicinium sacro-profanum — broadly, a ‘sacred-profane stringed instrument’ — reflects the collection’s deliberately broad character: music capable of serving both devotional and secular settings. Its five-minute span makes this compact D minor sonata a particularly vivid interlude within the programme.