Twelve concerti grossi, Op. 6 (Corelli)

Twelve concerti grossi, Op. 6, is a collection of twelve concerti written by Arcangelo Corelli probably in the 1680s but not prepared for publication until 1714. They are among the finest and first examples of concerti grossi: concertos for a concertino group (here a 1st violin, a 2nd violin and a cello) and a ripieno group of strings with continuo. Their publication – decades after their composition and after Italian composers had moved to favor the ritornello concerto form associated with Vivaldi – caused waves of concerto grosso writing in Germany and England, where in 1739 George Frideric Handel honored Corelli directly with his own "Opus 6" collection of twelve.

The first eight are concerti da chiesa while the last four are concerti da camera.

c. 12 minutes

c. 10 minutes

c. 10 minutes

Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 4

1. Adagio – Allegro

Performed by the Advent Chamber Orchestra

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c. 10 minutes

c. 11 minutes

c. 12 minutes

c. 9 minutes

Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 8

Movements 1 and 2

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Movements 4 to 6

Performed by the Advent Chamber Orchestra

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Also known as the Christmas Concerto as it was written for Christmas Eve and has a pastorale in the last movement.

c. 14 minutes

c. 9 minutes

c. 13 minutes

c. 10 minutes

c. 10 minutes

Length estimates are drawn from the recording by The English Concert.

• Pavlo Beznosiuk (conductor and violin), The Avison Ensemble, 2 discs, Linn Records (2012)
• The English Concert (on authentic instruments) directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock, with Simon Standage, Micaela Comberti (concertino violins) & Jaap ter Linden (concertino violoncello). 2 discs, Archiv Produktion, 1988.
• I Musici, rev. Vittorio Negri, with Felix Ayo, Arnaldo Apostoli, Guy Bovet, Maria Teresa Garatti, Marijke Smit Sibinga, 2 discs, Philips Classics, (1966)

• Publications by Friedrich Chrysander

• 12 Concerti grossi, Op. 6: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• PDF scores for Corelli, Op. 6 concerti grossi
• More on the Twelve Concerti Grossi