| Christmas Concerto (Corelli)
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Concerto grosso in G minor, op.6 no. 8, by Arcangelo Corelli, known commonly as his Christmas Concerto, was commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and published posthumously in 1714 as part of his Twelve concerti grossi, op.6. The concerto bears the inscription Fatto per la notte di Natale or Made for the night of Christmas. It was composed around 1690, since there is a record of Corelli having that year performed a Christmas concerto for the enjoyment of his then-new patron. The concerto is scored for an ensemble consisting of two concertino violins and cello, ripieno strings and continuo. The work is structured as a concerto da chiesa, in this case expanded from a typical four movement structure to five or six.
Movements:
Vivace-Grave. Arcate, sostenuto e come stà
Allegro
Adagio-Allegro-Adagio
Vivace
Allegro
Largo. Pastorale ad libitum
Each relatively short movement provides multiple tempi and a range of major and minor suspensions. The concerto is generally no longer than fifteen minutes, ending with Corelli's famous Pastorale ad libitum, a peaceful 12/8 finale in the Christmas pastorale form.
The third movement of this piece appeared on the soundtrack of the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
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