A Performance Guide to Josh Oxford’s Luminous Mysteries Rosary Sonata: Situating a Commission within Historical, Musical, Narrative, and Technical Contexts, with Violin Part in Semi-Tablature Notation

Josh Oxford wrote the Luminous Mysteries Rosary Sonata in 2022 on commission from the violinist Esther Witherell. The piece continues in the Rosary Sonata tradition begun by Heinrich Biber while also incorporating contemporary composition styles and violin techniques, most notably the use of dynamic scordatura. The formidable challenges involved in realizing the written score make the provision of a performance guide with a semi-tablature notation of the violin part all but essential. This document serves as a guide to future performers of the Luminous Mysteries Rosary Sonata. The paper provides the historical background for its composition, supplies information from the composer regarding Biblical allusions in the piece, and suggests solutions to common technical difficulties. The appendix consists of the semi-tablature violin part with at-pitch notation from the composer and as-fingered notation from the author.