Arcangelo Corelli (1 gen 1652 anni – 1 gen 1713 anni)

Descrizione:

Pieces: Op. 3 no. 11 presto

The Italians came to dominate instrumental music in the late seventeenth century.

Virtuoso violinist who composed exclusively instrumental music. First European compsoer to enjoy eminent international recognition exclusively on the strength of his instrumental ensemble works. His music circulated widely in print during his lifetim; provided countless other musicians with models for imitation. He played a major role in standardizing genres and rising the stature of instrumental music within the domain of chamber and orchestral music for strings.

The historical significance of his sonatas and concertos is tremendous, affecting European music of every sort at a time when genres, forms, and tonal practices were becoming more standardized.

Wrote sonatas of two types: sonata da chiesa (church sonata) and sonata da camera (chamber sonata), a suite of dance movements.In both his sonatas and concertos we begin to see clear examples of tonal harmony as the driving force in compositions.

With Corelli's generation we encounter a momentous juncture in the histroy of music: the birth of harmonically controlled and elaborated form. During roughly a tewnty-five-year period beginning in 1700, Italian instrumental music developed the earliest forms of the tonal relations that we have long taken for granted: the dominant-tonic relationship, seventh choirds, the circle of fifths, and other harmonic procedures. Both composers and listeners embraced this new style of harmony. For composers it made much easier the planning and control of ever-larger formal structures. For listeners it granted an unprecedentedly exciting sense of high-powered, directed momentum and sometimes a practically visceral emotional payoff. The tonal system at once gave composers the means for administering a new kind of pleasurable shock to their audiences. Corelli will serve as our model to see how this all came about.

Sonata da chiesa was variously scored: for solo violin and continuo, for two violins, cello, and continuo (trio sonata) or amplified by a backup band known as the concerto grosso (large ensemble). which eventually lent its name to a genre itself. A church sonata was often played during Mass to accompany liturgical actions. It usually had four movements in contrasting tempos, cast in two slow-fast pairs, resembling the preludes and fugues organists were used to improvising.

For the secular setting of aristocratic salons Corelli adopted another standard violinist's genre, called sonata da camera (chamber sonata). This was essentially a dance suite, which Corelli adapted to the prevailing multimovement format, often a preludio followed by two or three dances or connecting movements.

Between 1681 and 1694 he published 48 trio sonatas in four collections of tweleve , alternating church sonatas and chamber sonatas. The two styles had many similarities: they each were writtten in a binary form, featuring opening prelude like movements, lively condluing movements, and imitative textures.

Circle of fifths is what really gets tonal harmony going. Also reinforced by melodic sequences or suspensions.

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