The Christmas Concerto, concerto grosso op.6,8, represents the beginnings of the concerto form. Corelli’s concerto grossi are essentially an extension of his celebrated trio sonatas, they were composed in a very practical manner allowing a concert organizer to adjust the size of the orchestra and parts to suit budget and occasion. The makeup of Corelli’s concerto grosso consisted of a concertino set a small ensemble of solo instruments agaist a larger group of instruments the concerto grosso . This fundamental opposition of groups was the foundation from where the modern concerto was constructed. Even in this early concerto grosso there are brief moments of solo violin which allude to the direction that the form will take in following years. Corelli composed music that was not technically challenging to the players thereby making his music accessible to a wide number of musicians of ranging standards and the fact that he can forge such beautiful music from simple elements is testament to his artistry.
The Christmas Concerto is similar in form to Corelli’s church sonatas and has a basic slow-fast, slow-fast structure albeit with some minor alterations such as the interjecting allegro section in the Eb adagio. It is singled out, however, from other concerti of the opus with the addition of a beautiful pastoral movement attached to the end of the concerto. “ Concertos, like sonatas and sinfonias, functioned as “overtures” to a Mass or as instrumental Offertories.”1 The pastoral movement is one of the best known movements of its kind alongside the pastorals from Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.
The opening of the work is once again composed in a practical manner for if the Concerto were to act as an “overture” to the Mass it’s first job was to attract the attention of the audience so as to commence the proceedings. Corelli achieves this in dramatic style with forte chords marking a striking opening. The opening leads into a luscious Grave in fugal style that is full of suspensions and syncopated rhythms, both are signature features of Corelli’s style and are featured in the following movements. These suspensions and tied notes over the measure lines create one long undulating phrase that finally cadences with a tierce de picardie in G major. Both the concertino and the concerto grosso play largely with corresponding parts in unison, the full texture adding to the sonorous opening.
From the solemn opening a dramatic Allegro launches off being driven once again by the rhythmic syncopation and harmonic suspensions, however, in the Allegro both of these elements are used to constantly drive the music forward and maintain momentum. Clever part writing, with the first and second violin playing on alternate beats, affords the music exciting rhythms and drive whilst still retaining a relatively simple line for each musician. The concerto grosso takes on a different role in the Allegro and is used more to punctuate cadences and provide added momentum. It alternates between playing different and similar material as the concertino and sometimes is completely absent. This offers variety with the texture and gives a separation to the two groups.
Corelli has manipulated the form of the concerto to provide many unexpected twists and turns for the listener, whom perhaps would have been very accustomed to very strict realizations of church sonatas da chiesa. The opening Adagio is preceeded by a small but robust introduction and the second Adagio is split into a ternary form with a small Allegro interjecting between repeats. The final ‘fast’ section is actually two fast sections, consisting of a Vivace section and another Allegro. They are both, however, short in length and homogenous in style which achieves the desired effect of one final section. The effect of all of these changes, whilst apparently simple upon viewing the score, is one of surprise and playing with expectation. Because of the continous yet subtle changes in the formal organization of the concerto the listener does not really know what to expect and the concerto attains a fantasia like quality.
Corelli handles the orchestration in a similar manner throughout the concerto alternating the concerto grosso between playing unison lines with concertino and taking on its own role of punctuating the rhythm and cadences. A brief but interesting moment occurs in the final Allegro when bothe the concertino and the concerto grosso pause to expose a solo passage played by the first violin of the concertino. The solo passage is a very limited one in terms of range, melodic interest and rhythm, however, the change of texture which is perhaps the goal of Corelli in this instance, is striking and also works to its greates possible effect being at the end of the concerto.
It is a marvel that Corelli composed such engaging and beautiful music with the pragmatic constraints of technical demands and versatility put upon him. He has overcome these challenges by being creative with form and using simple elements such as rhythmic syncopation and melodic suspensions to great effect. The practicality of the score, lending itself to augmentation or reduction of forces, gives us an idea of how music was perceived at the time at least by those who funded it. Its purpose being more akin to a trade rather than an art.
