{"product_id":"a-baroque-christmas-collegium","title":"A BAROQUE CHRISTMAS  COLLEGIUM","description":"The famous pastoral music in Bach’s  \u003ci\u003eChristmas Oratorio\u003c\/i\u003e and in Handel’s  \u003ci\u003eMessiah\u003c\/i\u003e are central parts of a development which spans two hundred years, from about the second half of the seventeenth century until well into the nineteenth. Connoisseurs and experts still disagree on whether the stimulus came from the secular pastoral music of the Renaissance, or whether the  \u003ci\u003eShepherds In Adoration\u003c\/i\u003e provided the initial inspiration for the composers.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Arcangelo Corelli’s (1653—1713)  \u003ci\u003eChristmas Concerto\u003c\/i\u003e is the oldest of the works. His concerto op. VI No. 8  \u003ci\u003efatto per la notte di Natale\u003c\/i\u003e appeared in 1714 a year after the master’s death, in Amsterdam. It undoubtedly belongs to the last period of Corelli’s work and is among his most famous — not only by virtue of its festive Christmas spirit, but more specifically because it constitutes one of the most impressive and accomplished examples of the  \u003ci\u003eConcerto grosso\u003c\/i\u003e. The balanced beauty of the many movements of the ecclesiastical work is in happy concordance, as can be felt in the depth of the sentiment, the vigour of expression, the enchanting sounds of the strings, the supreme virtuosity of the arrangement of the solo parts, and the classical harmony. The  \u003ci\u003ePastorale\u003c\/i\u003e exhibits in its unique perfection the combined stylistic features of pastoral music: the swaying Sicilian rhythm, the tender, peaceful interval of the thirds and the imitation of the bagpipe’s drone. As J. N. Forkel understands it, Corelli in composing this work had a vision of the Angel on High over Bethlehem. Whatever the case may be, one readily agrees with Einstein who called this Pastorale \"the musical companion-piece to Sandro Boticelli’s  \u003ci\u003eNativity\u003c\/i\u003e\".\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Johann Christoph Pez (1664—1716) was a contemporary of Corelli. Despite his studies in Rome, his whole professional life was spent in South and West Germany, in Munich, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf. Pez underlines the festive and pastoral character of his Concerto through the treble parts which are intended for the two flutes. He acquires a delightful textural contrast by his masterly juxtaposition of violin with two viols or violas.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Two of the movements are designated as  \u003ci\u003ePastorale\u003c\/i\u003e; the others (with the exception of the  \u003ci\u003eChaconne\u003c\/i\u003e) are called  \u003ci\u003eAria\u003c\/i\u003e by the composer, who thus freely concedes a secular and in parts popular character. Francesco Manfredini‘s (ca. 1680—1748) opus III appeared in Bologna in 1718, where the composer had finished his apprenticeship under Torelli. Manfredini too designated his three-movement Concerto  \u003ci\u003efatto per la notte di Natale\u003c\/i\u003e,that is, for performance at the Christmas Mass. The transition from the  \u003ci\u003eConcerto grosso\u003c\/i\u003e to the purely instrumental concerto can be traced in this work. In some sections the two solo violins have to master tasks which can be attributed to a solo violin in a violin concerto. In style too, this late Baroque composition foreshadows a possible future gallantry and sensitivity of expression, without meanwhile sacrificing the gravity and elevation of an authentic  \u003ci\u003esonata da chiesa\u003c\/i\u003e to the sweetness and pleasance of the sound.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Giuseppe Tartini’s life (1692 1770) reads rather like a novel. Throughout his life he was very closely connected with the Franciscans; his teacher was the famous Bohemian master, Cernohorsky, a Franciscan monk from Prague who lived a long time in Assisi. It seems almost inconceivable that the same master who envisaged “the devil’s trill” in a hell-like vision, could also have composed simple Franciscan church music. In this three-movement symphony for strings, the transition from Rococo to true Classicism can already be noted.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Carl de Nys\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"RCA","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49606151962904,"sku":"090266188222","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3891814.jpg?v=1777616466","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/a-baroque-christmas-collegium","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}