Arcangelo Corelli

Born: February 17, 1653. Fusignano (near Ravenna), Italy Died: January 8, 1713. Rome - Biography - Musical Examples - Works - Links - Baroque Composer Index

Italian composer and violinist. First composer to gain fame entirely from instrumental music. He had a great influence on the development of the sonata and concerto, as well as on violin technique of the time.

Nearly everybody has heard of the great violinmaker Antonio Stradivarius (and nearly as many people have heard of someone who has found an old violin in the attic and dreamed that it is one of his). Stradivarius's instruments are valued as some of the best string instruments ever made. Interestingly enough, however, the instruments of Stradivarius and his illustrious contemporaries and predecessors were built at a time in which the violin was only just becoming a valued solo instrument. In fact, Stradivarius (c. 1645–1737) was almost an exact contemporary of Arcangelo Corelli. The synergy of these wonderful new instruments and Corelli's new music for them made for an incredibly exciting time for violinists.

Corelli was born to a wealthy family in a small town between Bologna and the coastal town of Ravenna. After early study, it was no surprise that he went to Bologna. The city, with the huge church of San Petronio, was a vital center for music—especially for instrumental music. He played and studied with some of the leading musicians of the day and began to build a solid reputation. His career soon took him to Rome, where he continued to make a name for himself as a violinist and conductor. It was there, in 1681, that he published his first collection of music—his Opus 1 Trio Sonatas. These were dedicated to his patron at the time, Queen Christina of Sweden. Throughout the remainder of his life, he had the patronage of the rich and powerful as well as the respect and genuine admiration of his musical colleagues. At his death he was buried in Rome's Pantheon, an honor he shares with such luminaries as the painter Raphael and Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, the first kings of the unified Italy of the nineteenth century.

Corelli's music was an important part of the development of the violin and of the orchestra. His solo and trio sonatas, while seemingly simple from a modern perspective, exploited and expanded the potential of the instrument. At the same time, they solidified the basic form, creating a model that would be followed by generations of composers. His concertos broke new ground in the structure of the orchestra, and his innovations were taken over by composers such as Giuseppe Torelli and Antonio Vivaldi. By the time of Corelli's death, the violin had become the preeminent solo instrument, and the sonata and concerto would become the primary foundations of chamber and orchestral music for the next two hundred years.

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Musical Examples:

• Badinerie from Suite for Strings
• Sonata, Op. 5, No. 9-Second Movement (Gigue)
• Concerto Grosso in F major, Op. 6, No. 9-Fourth Movement (Gavotte)
• Sonata for Trumpet, Two Violins and Continuo in D major-Second Movement (Allegro)
• Concerto Grosso in C minor, Op. 6, No. 3-Second Movement (Grave)
• Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 ("Christmas Concerto")-Fourth Movement (Pastorale)

Works:

• 4 collections of trio sonatas (2 violins and continuo), including 2 books of sonatas da chiesa (1681, 1689) and 2 books of sonatas da camera (1685, 1694)
• 1 collection of solo violin sonatas (1700)
• 1 collection of concerto grosso (publ. 1714)

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Links:

• An Introduction to Stradivarius and His Instruments

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