The Music of the Week presents us with Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerto Grosso No. 4 in D major. It is one of 12 Concerti Grossi that are known as Opus 6 of Corelli’s work published in 1714. The 12 concerti are dedicated to and were sponsored by the princely couple of Johann Wilhelm II, Count and Elector Palatine, and his wife Anna Maria Louisa de Medici, who became great patrons of the arts and music at their residential court of Düsseldorf. Anna Maria Louisa is our Hero of the Week.

Corelli’s collection of Concerti Grossi was the first mature example of this new genre of Baroque music that developed in the late 17th century. In it, a small group of solo instruments is complemented by a large orchestra, with some of the passages played as “tutti.” This form of composition was later superseded by the symphony—a composition for large orchestra without soloists.

This fourth concerto grosso is beautifully performed on historic instruments by the Voices of Music ensemble of San Francisco, California.

Related:

Arcangelo Corelli (Wikipedia)

Voices of Music – Early Music Ensemble