Concerts

December 29, 2019
benaroya hall, seattle

Corelli and the Splendor of the Baroque

A festive evening of early Baroque treasures by Salamone Rossi, Isabella Leonarda, Heinrich Biber, and Arcangelo Corelli.

“Violinist Ingrid Matthews was particularly felicitous, playing with great verve and style.”

— Mark Satola, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Kris Kwapis

trumpet

Ingrid Matthews

VIOLIN

Rachell Ellen Wong

VIOLIN

Nathan Whittaker

Cello

Byron Schenkman

Harpsichord

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Program

Salomone Rossi:

Four pieces for two violins and continuo

Isabella Leonarda:

Trio-sonata op. 16, no. 1

Godfrey Finger:

Trio-sonata in C

Arcangelo Corelli:

Sonata in D Minor, op. 5, no. 12 “Folia”

Heinrich Biber:

Passacaglia for solo violin

Pavel Vejvanovský:

Sonata Tribus Quadrantibus

Arcangelo Corelli:

Trio-sonata in G Minor, op. 1, no. 10

Arcangelo Corelli:

Sonata in D Major for trumpet, two violins, and continuo

“Here was an intelligently programmed and charmingly presented concert that mixed masterworks with some fascinating novelties.”

— Thomas May, Memeteria

Program Notes

The music of Arcangelo Corelli is a culmination of a century of innovation in European music. The early 17^th century marked the beginning of what we now call the Baroque Era. At that time composers made a conscious choice to break from the traditions of the Renaissance. These composers often identified the music they were writing as “new” or “modern.”

Much of the earliest published instrumental music was for unspecified instruments. Salamone Rossi was the first to publish music specifically for violins. He was also the first to publish trio-sonatas: sonatas for two violins and continuo such as the examples on tonight’s program. Rossi was employed as a violinist and composer at the Mantua court. He published many volumes of secular vocal and instrumental music as well as a rare example of polyphonic Jewish liturgical music. Aside from the music he published there is no trace of Rossi after the destruction of Mantua’s Jewish ghetto in 1630.

Many women published music in Italy in the 17th century. Some were professional musicians, such as Francesca Caccini, nicknamed La Cecchina, who became the highest paid musician at the Florentine court; some were members of the aristocracy, such as the great cantata composer Barbara Strozzi; and many were nuns. Isabella Leonarda was one of the greatest of the latter category. She published hundreds of sacred vocal works in addition to a collection of instrumental chamber music.

In the second half of the 17^th century the new music which had first developed in northern Italy spread throughout Europe. Many musicians traveled and learned different ways of making music from colleagues of other nationalities. Godfrey Finger was a Moravian viol player employed at the English court of James II. Heinrich Biber, probably the most famous violinist of the 17^th century, was born in a small town in Bohemia and spent most of his career at the Salzburg court where Leopold Mozart later worked. Pavel Josef Vejvanovský, a Moravian trumpet virtuoso, was music director for the Habsburg court in Kromeriz where he also worked with both Finger and Biber.

Arcangelo Corelli was a great violinist and one of the most influential European composers of any era. His perfectly constructed music was widely imitated and formed the basis for what would become known as common practice harmony.