Description

 http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/5694/geminianifront145lt4.jpg http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/366/geminianiback153fs0.jpg Academy of Ancient Music Andrew Manze FRANCESCO GEMINIANI CONCERTI GROSSI VII-XII (after Corelli, op. 5) This recording presents six of the twelve orchestral concerti grossi by Francesco Geminiani, which are based on the Op. 5 sonatas for solo violin by his teacher, Arcangelo Corelli. They are more than arrangements or orchestrations: they are explorations, expansions, the end product of a process of musical evolution. Geminiani composed these concertos while in London, at a time when circumstances had "concurred to convert the English Musick intirely over from the French to the Italian taste" (Roger North, an amateur theorist and copious scribbler). One of these circumstances was "the numerous traine of yong travellers of the best quality and estates, that about this time went over into Itally and resided at Rome and Venice, where they heard the best musick and learnt of the best masters." This is what we now refer to as the Grand Tour. Another reason was that there "then came over [i. e., from Italy to England] Corelly's first consort [his Op. 1 trio sonatas, first published in 1681] that cleared the ground of all other sorts of musick whatsoever. By degrees the rest of his consorts, and at last the conciertos [Op. 6, 1714] came, all which are to musitians like the bread of life." Praise verging on blasphemy is high praise indeed and an indication of the cult status accorded to Corelli. ........ (more in the booklet) http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxgem.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Geminiani http://www.haendel.it/compositori/geminiani.htm http://www.goldbergweb.com/en/history/composers/10975.php http://membres.lycos.fr/musiqueclassique/geminiani.htm