Welcome to the Biber Music Blog, your go-to resource for exploring the life and works of the renowned composer Heinrich Biber. Here, we celebrate Biber's unique contributions to music and provide a platform for enthusiasts to engage with his legacy.

Our blog features a variety of posts that delve into Biber's biography, his most notable compositions, and the recordings that bring his music to life. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to Biber's work, you'll find valuable insights and information to deepen your appreciation.

Stay tuned for regular updates, including articles on Biber's influence in the music world, reviews of recent recordings, and discussions on his techniques and styles.

Join us in honoring Heinrich Biber's remarkable journey and the timeless beauty of his music.

Storing a Biber Recording Library on External Drives

Collectors of Baroque violin music tend to accumulate files quickly: high-resolution downloads of the Rosary (Mystery) Sonatas, rips of out-of-print CDs, broadcast recordings, and scans of scores and facsimiles. An external hard disk is the simplest way to keep that collection safe and portable. Choosing a drive for a music archive is less about chasing a particular model year and more about matching the drive's strengths to how you listen and work.

Spinning disks or solid state?

Traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) still offer the most storage for the money, which matters if you keep lossless or high-resolution files. A complete set of the Rosary Sonatas in 24-bit audio can take up several gigabytes, and a library covering the recordings of several ensembles grows fast. Solid-state drives (SSDs) are smaller, quieter and far more resistant to knocks, so they suit a laptop bag or a listening setup where silence counts. Many collectors use both: a large HDD at home for the archive and a compact SSD for travel.

What to look for

  • Connection: USB 3.x or USB-C keeps transfers quick when you copy whole albums.
  • Capacity headroom: buy more than you need today; collections rarely shrink.
  • File system: exFAT works across Windows and macOS, which helps if you move files between machines.
  • Build: a sturdy casing matters more for portable drives than for one that sits on a desk.

Protecting the collection

No drive lasts forever, so treat any single disk as one copy, not a backup. A common rule of thumb is to keep three copies on at least two kinds of media, with one stored away from home. Run a backup after each batch of new downloads, and check the drive occasionally by opening a few older files.

Good organisation pays off too. Naming folders by work and catalogue number, for example grouping the sonatas, the Missa Salisburgensis and the Battalia separately, makes it easy to compare interpretations. Our works overview can serve as a handy template for structuring your folders, and digitised scores from the manuscripts section fit neatly alongside the audio.

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