CONCERTI GROSSI

Although Giovanni Lorenzo Gregori was the first to use the term concerto grosso to describe his compositions, it is Arcangelo Corelli who is considered the father of the genre. Thus, it is not without reason that the concert entitled Concerti grossi opens with the work of this excellent Italian composer. The collection of twelve concerti that make up Corelli’s Op. 6 became a source of inspiration and a model to follow for an entire generation of composers of the late Baroque. The great Corelli taught, among others, Francesco Geminiani, who passed on to his students the master’s teachings expanded by his own experiences.

Another composer who openly referred to the father of the genre was Georg Muffat. His Sonata No. 2 in G minor – like the entire Armonico Tributo collection which it belongs to – openly draws on Corelli’s concerti grossi. It is worth noting, however, that Muffat allowed for flexibility in the performance of his works. Depending on the available players, the sonatas could be performed by chamber ensembles (3, 4, or 5 instruments) or a full orchestra, divided – in keeping with the concertante style – into two competing instrumental groups: concertino and tutti.

The genre was also successfully cultivated by Georg Friedrich Haendel. The great composer’s nod to Corelli is the numbering of his own concerti grossi as Op. 6 and the inclusion of exactly 12 concertos in the cycle. Haendel also preserves the formal arrangement of individual pieces characteristic of Corelli, yet at the same time, he soars to the heights of his genius, integrating into the excellent cycle Twelve Grand Concertos the styles characteristic of Italian, French, English, and German music.

The concert program will end with the moving Trauersymphonie, which violin virtuoso Pietro Antonio Locatelli composed to commemorate a woman whose name has slipped into the obscurity of history. After an initial lament of despair, fragments filled with sadness alternate with lighter passages, leading to the final consolation.

Marta Dziewanowska-Pachowska

PROGRAM

Arcangelo Corelli – Concerto grosso Op. 6 No 4

Adagio-Allegro / Adagio / Vivace / Allegro

Francesco Geminiani – Concerto in D minor Op. 7

Grave / Allegro assai / Andante / Allegro

Georg Muffat – Sonata II in G minor from Armonico Tributo

Grave / Allegro / Grave / Forte e allegro / Grave / Aria / Grave /Sarabanda / Grave / Borea

Georg Friedrich Haendel (1685-1759) – Concerto grosso in A minor Op. 6 No 4

Larghetto affettuoso / Allegro / Largo e piano / Allegro

Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695-1764) – Trauersymphonie

Lamento: Largo / Alla breve ma moderato / Grave / Non presto / La Consolazione: Andante

PERFORMERS

THE PERIOD INSTRUMENTS ENSEMBLE OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA CAPELLA REGIA POLONA

KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA HARPSICHORD, CONDUCTOR

Duration: approx. 1h

The seats in the auditorium are not numbered.