SPIRIT OF THE SEASON : BACH , CORELLI & VIVALDI
Arcangelo Corelli
Born February 17 , 1653 in Fusignano , diocese of Ferrara , The Papal States ( present-day Italy ) Died January 8 , 1713 in Rome , Italy
CONCERTO GROSSO , OP . 6 , NO . 8 IN G MINOR ( CHRISTMAS CONCERTO ) [ 168X ]
Almost all music is destined to fall out of fashion at some time or another , but falling out of fashion does not necessarily mean falling out of history . Few works illustrate this better than Arcangelo Corelli ’ s Christmas Concerto , the eighth of twelve concerti grossi published within his Opus 6 collection .
Op . 6 was likely written sometime during the 1680 ’ s , but it wasn ’ t until 1714 , a year after Corelli ’ s death , that the collection finally reached publication . In the interim three decades , the concerto grosso — an orchestral work contrasting solo episodes by principal players ( concertino ) with ensemble accompaniment ( ripieno ) — had fallen out of favor among Italian audiences , who increasingly preferred the newer , three-movement concerto spearheaded by the upstart Antonio Vivaldi .
But that was at home ; the rest of Europe was another matter entirely . By the end of his life , and in the years immediately following his death , Corelli had become the most widely printed composer on the continent , and print meant circulation . French , English , and German audiences alike greeted his music with wild enthusiasm . In the late 1730s , George Frederic Handel , then working in London , composed his own Op . 6 collection of concerti grossi as an homage to Corelli . By 1750 , the genre ’ s popularity again waned in favor of the now standard three-movement solo concerto , but today , Corelli ’ s Op . 6 , No . 8 — bearing the inscription , “ Fatto per la notte di Natale ,” or “ made for the night of Christmas ”— represents the composer ’ s most enduring and popular work .
Corelli composed Op . 6 for the Italian cardinal and renowned patron of the arts , Pietro Ottoboni , described by a contemporary as a man who “ loved pomp , prodigality , and sensual pleasure , but was in the same time kind , ready to serve , and charitable .” If one were to personify the Christmas Concerto — with its rare generosity and spaciousness in the slow movements , and pomp , vigor , and even sensual pleasure in the fast ones — that same description would work splendidly .
Instrumentation : Strings , harpsichord , and organ , in addition to two solo violins and one solo cello .
GLORIA , RV 589 [ 1713 – 1717 ]
Audiences today are likely to recognize , if not be able to sing on command , the beloved Christmas carol , “ Angels We Have Heard on High .” But they may not know that , upon reaching the song ’ s tumbling , melismatic chorus , they are in fact performing an ornamented version of a hymn whose origins stretch back to the fourth century , A . D . It was this same hymn , “ Gloria in excelsis Deo ,” to which Antonio Vivaldi composed three multi-movement settings of Gloria . Only two survive , RV 588 and 589 , and of those two the latter has become so famous that , when speaking of “ Vivaldi ’ s Gloria ,” there can be little mistake as to which the name refers .
Vivaldi composed RV 589 at some point between 1713 – 17 while teaching at Venice ’ s Pio Ospedale della Pietà , an orphanage and convent for girls and women renowned across Europe for its high caliber of musical instruction . In addition to a stable salary , the post afforded the composer and violin virtuoso ample opportunities to have his music performed by well-trained singers and instrumentalists alike .
Combining orchestra , chorus , and solo singers , RV 589 neatly encapsulates much of what is so alluring about the Italian High Baroque : swirling harmonies , variegated textures , rich dissonances , and above all a vivid sense of expression and rhetoric . This is sumptuous music crafted in the spirit of celebration ; little mystery , then , that it remains a treasured holiday favorite .
Instrumentation : Oboe , trumpet , organ , and strings , in addition to chorus and vocal soloists .
34 | OVERTURE | BSOmusic . org