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Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) was born in the Italian village of Fusignano near Bologna. He studied the violin locally and began a career as a traveling virtuoso for several years, playing at many of the Royal Courts of Europe before permanently settling in Rome in 1674. Corelli lived at a time when the violin was emerging as the most important of all concert instruments. It was the age of the great violin makers--Stradivarius, Amati and Guarnerius--and the craze for the new music being composed for the violin swept across northern Italy, which became the birthplace of the Baroque sonata. Corelli revolutionized violin playing and his trio sonatas, which were studied by Bach, Telemann and Vivaldi to name but a few, are widely regarded as the beginning of chamber music as we know it.
The Christmas Concerto, as Op. 6, No. 8 in g minor as it has come to be known, was commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, nephew of the pope. It was published the year after Corelli’s death in 1714 as part of his twelve Op.6 concerti grossi. The concerto bears the inscription “Fatto per la notte di Natale” (made for the night of Christmas). Its composition date is uncertain, but there is a record of Corelli having performed a Christmas concerto sometime during 1690. The concerto is scored for an ensemble consisting of two solo (concertato) violins, two ripieno (tutti) violins,, a viola, a solo (concertato) cello, a (tutti) ripieno cello and bass in addition to a keyboard continuo part which was typical for the time but which was not essential as it merely doubled the bass line. The work is structured as a concerto da chiesa, that is to say, a church sonata, a work to be performed during a church service. It is in six short movements: I. Vivace,-Grave- Arcate, II. Allegro, III. Adagio–Allegro–Adagio, IV. Vivace, V. Allegro, and VI. Largo, Pastorale. Each of these movements consists of multiple tempi as well as changes from major to minor and back again.
Parts $29.95
