35. Coffee Concert

35. Coffee Concert
Corelli reloaded

Corelli published his 12 Violin Sonatas Op. 5 in the year 1700 in Rome. Here was a veritable revolution in the technique of the violin: these Sonatas aroused the admiration of major composers such as Bach, Dandrieu and Couperin, and from then on they greatly influenced the stylistic approach of instrumental pieces composed in France. Francoeur, Leclair, Senaillé and Quentin would all try their hands at this Italian style, which was both virtuosic and sonorously brilliant, uniting the Italian and French aesthetics in an exemplary way. As a sign of the immense success these sonatas enjoyed from the moment they appeared until 1800, a century later, they had been republished throughout Europe no less than forty-two times as well as being arranged for many different instruments such as the traverso and the viola da gamba... In this concert we hear Violin Sonatas by Corelli, both played in the original and arranged for flute and viola da gamba.