Arcangelo Corelli: Concerto Grosso, op. 6, no. 8 “Fatto per la notte di Natale”
Concerto Grosso, op. 6, no. 8 “Fatto per la notte di Natale”
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
2 solo violins, solo cello, strings, continuo
First published 1714. First performance: December 1690 (uncertain), Rome. Arcangelo Corelli, continuo and conductor.
I. Vivace - Grave
II. Allegro
III. Adagio - Allegro - Adagio
IV. Vivace
V. Allegro
VI. Pastorale ad libitum: Largo
The history of Arcangelo Corelli’s works is uncertain. We are reasonably sure that this concerto grosso, “made for Christmas night”, was commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, his patron. We know that Corelli performed a Christmas concerto for the cardinal in 1690, and it seems likely that this was the same piece.
When Corelli published a set of 12 “concerti grossi” in 1714 as his Opus 6, he was the first significant composer to use the term. However, the idea of juxtaposing a group of soloists (the concertino) against a larger accompanying orchestra (the ripieno) had been evolving in Italian music for years. In Corelli’s time, the concerto grosso took two forms: the concerto da chiesa (church concerto) and the concerto da camera (chamber concerto).
The concerto da camera was structured as a suite of dances, whereas the concerto da chiesa consisted of four movements alternating between slow and fast tempos. Concerti da chiesa didn’t serve a specific liturgical function, but they were often performed as the offertory or during communion. Corelli became the most prominent exponent of the form, and he experimented throughout his career with various innovations.
Corelli’s Christmas Concerto is a concerto da chiesa composed in six movements, rather than the more traditional four. However, the first two and final two movements are linked, retaining the impression of a four-movement work. The final allegro segues gracefully into a slow pastorale evoking the zampogne and pifferi of the pifferari, leaving us once again with our flocks near Bethlehem.
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