Arcangelo Corelli (1653 –1713) was an Italian
violinist and composer of the Baroque era. His music
was key in the development of the modern genres of
sonata and concerto, in establishing the preeminence of
the violin, and as the first coalescing of modern
tonality and functional harmony. Baptismal records
indicate that Corelli was born on 17 February 1653 in
the small Romagna town of Fusignano, then in the
diocese of Ferrara, Papal States. His ancestors had
been in Fusignano and land-owners th...(+)
Arcangelo Corelli (1653 –1713) was an Italian
violinist and composer of the Baroque era. His music
was key in the development of the modern genres of
sonata and concerto, in establishing the preeminence of
the violin, and as the first coalescing of modern
tonality and functional harmony. Baptismal records
indicate that Corelli was born on 17 February 1653 in
the small Romagna town of Fusignano, then in the
diocese of Ferrara, Papal States. His ancestors had
been in Fusignano and land-owners there since 1506,
when a Corelli moved to the area from Rome. Although
apparently prosperous, they were almost certainly not
of the nobility, as several fanciful accounts of the
composer's genealogy subsequently claimed. Corelli's
father, from whom he took the name Arcangelo, died five
weeks before the composer's birth. Consequently, he was
raised by his mother, Santa (née Ruffini, or Raffini),
alongside four elder siblings.
In 1687 Corelli led the festival performances of music
for Queen Christina of Sweden. He was also a favorite
of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, grandnephew of another
Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, who in 1689 became Pope
Alexander VIII. From 1689 to 1690 he was in Modena. The
Duke of Modena was generous to him. In 1706 Corelli was
elected a member of the Pontificia Accademia degli
Arcadi (the Arcadian Academy of Rome). He received the
Arcadian name of Arcomelo Erimanteo.
In 1708 he returned to Rome, living in the palace of
Cardinal Ottoboni. His visit to Naples, at the
invitation of the king, took place in the same year.
The style of execution introduced by Corelli and
preserved by his pupils, such as Francesco Geminiani,
Pietro Locatelli, Pietro Castrucci, Francesco Antonio
Bonporti, Giovanni Stefano Carbonelli, Francesco
Gasparini, and others, was of vital importance for the
development of violin playing. It has been said that
the paths of all of the famous violinist-composers of
18th-century Italy led to Arcangelo Corelli, who was
their "iconic point of reference".
However, Corelli used only a limited portion of his
instrument's capabilities. This may be seen from his
writings. The parts for violin very rarely proceed
above D on the highest string, sometimes reaching the E
in fourth position on the highest string. The story has
been told and retold that Corelli refused to play a
passage that extended to A in altissimo in the overture
to Handel's oratorio The Triumph of Time and Truth
(premiered in Rome, 1708), and felt seriously offended
when the composer (32 years his junior) played the
note.
Nevertheless, his compositions for the instrument mark
an epoch in the history of chamber music. His influence
was not confined to his own country. Johann Sebastian
Bach studied the works of Corelli and based an organ
fugue (BWV 579) on Corelli's Opus 3 of 1689. Handel's
Opus 6 Concerti Grossi take Corelli's own older Opus 6
Concerti as models, rather than the later
three-movement Venetian concerto of Antonio Vivaldi
favoured by Bach.
MCorelli died in Rome in possession of a fortune of
120,000 marks and a valuable collection of works of art
and fine violins, the only luxury in which he had
indulged. He left both to his benefactor and friend,
who generously made over the money to Corelli's
relatives. Corelli is buried in the Pantheon at Rome.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcangelo_Corelli).
Although originally written for Violin & Strings, I
created this Interpretation of the Sarabande in E Minor
for Viola & Piano.
