Corelli Violin

If Michel Corrette was a little over-enthusiastic in crediting Corelli with the invention of both sonata and concerto form as it was known and understood in the mid-eighteenth century, Roger North had only to judge by the enormous popularity of the Italian master's works in England in the 1720s to deduce that they would be immortal… Monica Huggett…brings a sweetness of tone and a perfection of technical control that cannot but inspire admiration on their own count, but in combination with such unerring musical insight as is to be found here makes these into quite masterly interpretations… The continuo members of Trio Sonnerie are unerringly tasteful in their playing, while Nigel North on theorbo and other plucked instruments is quite stunningly imaginative.

Corelli's violin works were the locus classicus of the instrument's tradition at the height of the Baroque era, and several of the specialists in historical violin performance have taken their turns at realizing them in something like their original forms. This recording of the six violin sonatas of the composer's Op. 5 is by two veterans of Holland's rich early music scene, violinist Lucy van Dael and keyboardist Bob van Asperen. It has several distinguishing characteristics. The written score of these works provides the performers with only partial guidance. It consists of a skeletal violin melody, plus a figured bass.

This hard-to-find 2-CD set features Arthur Grumiaux and Riccardo Castagnone on Corelli's complete Op. 5 sonatas. Grumiaux's recording of the Corelli sonatas has long been treasured. Grumiaux's temperament suits perfectly the baroque works for violin, and I dare to say that no one else on modern violin has come close to this benchmark recording, before or since. Grab it while you can!

Arcangelo Corelli - Italian violinist and composer known chiefly for his influence on the development of violin style and for his sonatas and his 12 Concerti Grossi, which established the concerto grosso as a popular medium of composition.

Corelli's Op. 5 Violin Sonatas have always been admired by chamber music fans; there are a couple of good recordings of them already available. But this new one by Baroque specialist and virtuoso Andrew Manze and harpsichordist Richard Egarr presents the sonatas in such a bright, exciting, and improvisatory light that they seem brand new. During the composer's lifetime, these sonatas were widely played and tremendously influential; there's a good chance that it was assumed that virtuosi took what was written on the page as a starting point for embellishing and sheer showing off.

In the eighteenth century, the sonata model established by the published works of Arcangelo Corelli conquered all of musical Europe. Throughout the century, transcriptions of his music were published for every instrument, and the viola da gamba was no exception. The most interesting collection is that held at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris (MS Vm7 6308), which presents the twelve sonatas of Corelli’s op.5 in transcription for viola da gamba. Although it is preserved in Paris, certain stylistic elements suggest that this transcription originated in the German-speaking region of Europe, with particular reference to composers such as Johannes Schenck, Konrad Höffler or Gottfried Finger, whose works were deeply influenced by Corelli’s style. It is to this repertory that Teodoro Bau, winner of the 2021 Ma Festival Bruges competition, devotes his recording.