Corelli: Concerti grossi, Op. 6

Serendipia Ensemble, Rita Rógar, and Moisés Maroto, together with their ensemble of musicians—Darío Tamayo on the harpsichord, Calia Álvarez on the viola da gamba, José Arsenio Rueda on the baroque bassoon, and Jon Wasserman exchanging his plucked string instruments (theorbo and baroque guitar)—have recorded the complete sonatas. Premiering worldwide with the record label IBS Classical.

With this large continuo group, Serendipia Ensemble seeks a unique musical approach to the concept of the triosonata, finding the common ground between the concerto form conceived by Corelli and the sonata form arranged by Schickhardt. We are now able to hear, with layering of different instruments, the triosonatas approach the concerti in sections such as the tutti-soli that we appreciate in the Corellian originals.

Classical Music

In 1700, Corelli published his 12 violin sonatas, Opus 5, in Rome. A veritable revolution in violin technique, they won the admiration of eminent composers (Bach, Dandrieu, Couperin) and greatly influenced the French (Francoeur, Leclair, Senaillé, Quentin), who were to try their hand at this virtuoso and brilliant Italian style. At the end of the 1730s, the first six sonatas of opus 5 were"adapted to the transverse flute with the bass" by a Parisian publisher. The level of virtuosity they demanded was quite innovative at the time. This display of virtuosity is also to be found in the compositions of Jean-Baptiste Quentin, known as Le Jeune. We have very little biographical information on Quentin himself, but all his work is greatly inspired by Italian music and is heavily influenced by Corelli. Anna Besson has made the world's first recording of his sonatas, with the help of two other eminent performers of the new Baroque generation, Myriam Rignol on viola da gamba and Jean Rondeau on harpsichord…

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 Baù, winner of the 2021 Ma Festival Bruges competition, devotes his recording.

Arcangelo Corelli's Violin Sonatas, Op. 5 was a bestseller in the 18th century. The first episode of the recording by Enrico Onofri and the Imaginarium ensemble was celebrated by critics as a new reference recording. With the second volume the complete recording of this influential triumph of baroque solo sonatas is finished.

Arcangelo Corelli's contribution to the history of violin performance was immense. All six of his published collections of instrumental music demonstrate his exceptional skill as a violinist and composer, but it was in his Violin Sonatas, Op. 5 that Corelli had the most significant impact on violin technique. The Op. 5 collection consists of eleven sonatas and a twelfth sonata with a series of twenty-three variations on the famous "Follia" theme. All twelve pieces contain a variety of difficult violin techniques. Lina Tur Bonet is one of the most exciting violinists of the younger generation. She is accompanied by her ensemble Musica Alchemica.

CORELLI Violin Sonatas, op. 5: No. 7 in d; No. 8 in e; No. 9 in A; No. 10 in F; No. 11 in E; No. 12 in d, “La follia” • François Fernandez (vn); Glen Wilson (hpd) (period instruments) • NAXOS 8.557799 (62:53)


François Fernandez and Glen Wilson’s readings of the last six sonatas of Corelli’s op. 5 make up the second of a two-disc set (the first issued by Naxos as 8.557165). Harpsichordist Glen Wilson has provided the notes, in which he discusses the style of ornamentation, the use of harpsichord alone in realizing the figured bass, and the choice of A=400 (at which pitch Fernandez’s 1690 Andrea Guarneri violin, hardly so viola-like as might be expected, retains a surprising edge—of course, Corelli, like many of his contemporaries, avoided more than occasional use of the G string, supposedly because the bulkier string responded more sluggishly, so the higher tessitura doesn’t focus so intently on the instrument’s lower registers). Corelli’s sonatas influenced not only his contemporaries and immediate followers, but generations to come, and Fernandez and Wilson’s performances should make them equally impressive to modern listeners as well—not because of modern instruments or reliance on astringent timbres, but simply because they make these works breathe with a similar vital force as they must have exhibited in their own time. Even in these sonatas da camera the bass counterpoint should hold the most hidebound polyphonist’s attention, yet the melodies flow liquidly in the slow movements and they leap with sprightly, though controlled, energy in the fast ones. In the Ninth Sonata, Fernandez plays, on repeats, the ornaments provided by Corelli’s student, Geminiani, available in Hawkins’s History of Music (elsewhere, they try to remain true to the spirit of models that Roger claimed Corelli himself provided. Geminiani’s “ornaments,” as Wilson notes, amount almost to recomposition—heavy handed ones, in fact, some might think, in the spirit of Geminiani’s reworkings of Corelli’s solo sonatas as concerti grossi). Throughout, Wilson and Fernandez tease the textures of these works—which could alternatively be played with a noble (deadly?) restraint as inviolable masterpieces—with textural highlights, strong underscoring of the signature sequential passages, and zesty tempos. In Fernandez and Wilson’s performance, the famous “Follia” blends a somewhat melancholy dignity with the noted technical brilliance that made it a model for virtuosic showpieces through the generations. In this joie de vivre the duo seems to be having a thumpingly good time, as did Andrew Manze in so many pieces. Yet, with Corelli’s sonatas, Manze (Harmonia Mundi 907298, 26:5), with period instruments, wove sensitive, seductive fantasies. In 20:3, I reviewed John Holloway’s more abruptly rhetorical set, on period instruments (Novalis 150-128). And I also like Elizabeth Wallfisch’s set with the Locatelli Trio on Hyperion 66391, which Nils Anderson reviewed in 14:4.


Although Fernandez draws a somewhat reedy, acerbic sound from his violin, sound never seems an end in itself, nor does he rely upon it as a means to any other kind of end than a purely musical one. The engineers have balanced the harpsichord and violin almost perfectly; the ambiance remains clear and light. These performances constitute both an irrefutable argument for Corelli’s predominance and an irresistible introduction to his œuvre . In the last analysis, the choice between Manze, Holloway, and Fernandez depends more on the listener’s aesthetic predilections rather than on any superior merit. They are all authoritative in their very different ways. Fernandez belongs in this august company. Urgently recommended.


FANFARE: Robert Maxham

Classical Music

The rich, beautiful violin tone, and unhurried yet thoughtful tempi of Enrico Gatti have been heard often in the music of Arcangelo Corelli. For Glossa he has now recorded the “Assisi” Sonatas for violin, 12 Sonate da camera à violino e violoncello solo, which it is believed that Corelli wrote prior to committing his Op 1 Trio Sonatas for publication in 1681, and quite possibly when the composer was still in Bologna.

Arcangelo Corelli's legacy is immense, and even he knew it. The instrumental sonata in a few structurally coherent movements, as it exists today, is essentially his invention. The legacy under consideration on this Belgian release is narrower: after one sonata by Corelli himself, you hear works by his students and followers, many of whom played major roles in the musical life of England in the early 18th century. The most famous of these was Francesco Geminiani, who gets a lot of ink in the booklet (in English, French, German, and Italian) but is oddly not represented in the program. Instead there's music by a host of lesser lights, much of it known only to scholars; the sonatas by Giovanni Carbonelli, Giovanni Mossi, and Pietro Castrucci, as well as an unaccompanied gigue by Antonio Montanari, are world-premiere recordings. The Violin Sonata, Op. 8/10, of Pietro Locatelli effectively integrates showpiece virtuosity with clean structural lines, but the rest of the music tends to pick up on one aspect or another of Corelli's music -- harmonic sequences, technical challenges, or the ornament-encrusted melody of Corelli's slow movements -- and imitate it. The peformances by the Musica Antiqua Roma historical-instrument ensemble are of the heavily accented, highly dramatic sort that has become common in Italy, with a three-person continuo (keyboard, cello,and triple harp) imparting plenty of rhythmic drive and rasp. The average buyer may be satisfied with music by Corelli and the other major figures of the Italian and British scenes (Veracini is one to try if you're interested in exploring), but this will be of interest to serious fans of the High Baroque sonata.

-- All Music Guide

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.



It's rare to experience the level of artistic rapport heard on this recording from [Petri and Esfahani]… In Petri's capable hands, the recorder becomes a medium through which she conveys a more vocal interpretation of thematic material than ever a violin could… Esfahani crafts the most imaginative and engaging accompaniments and repartee I have ever heard.

– Gramophone Magazine

Petri and Esfahani's is an invigorating ensemble effort, with each sparking off the other.

– BBC Music Magazine

Arcangelo Corelli was "world famous" even in the world of his day. Copies of Corelli's works appeared in St. Petersburg as well as in Constantinople, Stockholm and even in America, where Thomas Jefferson spoke of being charmed completely by Corelli's music.

Despite its popularity only a handful of his original manuscripts exist today and the Violin Sonatas Op. 5 have a place of honor. The pieces on this album were drawn from the second half of Op. 5 and in the original edition of 1700, published as "Parte seconda: Preludii, Allemande, Correnti, Sarabande, Gavotte, e Follia." Baroque sonatas having been inspired by dances, and playable on violin and harpsichord or ona variety of instruments, in this case, recorder and harpsichord.

The easy-held nature of the sonatas allows great freedom for ornamentation and improvisation, which Michala Petri and Mahan Esfahani savor with pleasure.

Recent research has revealed the existence of a practice which has been hitherto ignored: that of doubling the instrumental music composed and conducted by Corelli with all sorts of wind instruments. This practice forces a re-examination of the faithful reproduction of the compositions as printed, which has prevailed up until now. This is thus the first complete performance of the twelve Concerti Grossi by Corelli which attempts to accurately reconstruct the works' historical-musical context.

Corelli: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, Nos. 7-12

The most impressive public celebration in baroque Rome was given in honor of Louis XIV in 1686. To celebrate the undisputed protector of the Catholic Church, and one year later the successful operation on the anal fistula of the Great King, the French Ambassador organised a grandiose open-air event on the Pincian hill, between the Trinità dei Monti and the Piazza di Spagna. Corelli’s prestigious orchestra in full formation performed "Sinfonie" with trumpets and timpani, accompanied by fireworks. The virtuoso violinist Emmanuel Resche-Caserta reconstructs this extraordinary musical feat, restoring the cantata in honor of the King of France composed by Alessandro Melani. Here is a revival of the Roman baroque splendor that so marked the French court!