Corelli, Arcangelo (1653, 1713)

Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) spent most of his life in Rome, where he served the exiled Catholic Queen Christina of Sweden, Cardinal Pamphili and the young Cardinal Ottoboni, in whose palace he lived for a number of years.
He died a wealthy man and was buried in the Pantheon, a sign of the respect in which he was held.



He had a great influence over the following generation of composers, especially Handel who worked with him for a short time in Rome in 1707. He composed only instrumental music, notably 48 Trio Sonatas for two violins and basso continuo (generally harpsichord and cello), twelve sonatas for violin and continuo and twelve concerti grossi, works for string orchestra with a solo group of two violins, cello and harpsichord. The Violin Sonatas include a particularly well known set of variations on the popular dance-tune La Folia, a melody used by many composers of the period. Concerto Grosso no. 8 is the famous Christmas Concerto, which includes a pastoral movement setting the scene for Christ's birth.