CORELLI, Arcangelo 1653-1713

Sonate Sei A Violino e Basso per Camera del Celebre Autore Sig. Arcangelo Corelli Romano Opera Quinta Parte Prima. [Op. 5]. [Copyist manuscript]

Italy: [ca. 1700].

Oblong folio (261 x 384 mm). Contemporary full ivory vellum.

1f. (recto attractive calligraphic title in blue, red, and black ink and gold leaf, verso blank), [i] (blank), 50, [i] (blank), (secondary calligraphic title in blue, red and black ink "Prelludÿ Corenti Sarabande Gighe Gavotte Alemande Follia Sonate Sei a Violino, e Basso ... Opera Quinta Parte Seconda," verso blank), 41, [i] (blank) pp. Notated on 47 numbered folios in black ink on 10-stave rastrum-ruled paper. Watermark of animal within a circle.

The final two pages of music in a different hand with the note "subito dopo la Sonata 4a. pag. [folio] 15;" this movement, "All.[egr]o," is the second movement of Sonata Quarta, accidentally omitted by the copyist in the main body of the manuscript.

With small circular armorial bookplate to front pastedown "E Libris Caroli Ricardi Ward;" small octagonal handstamp of Antonio Gandini (possibly the Modena-born composer 1786-1842) to blank lower outer corner of title.

Faint annotations in ink to upper board; several articulation markings in pencil to the Giga movement of the ninth sonata.

Binding worn, rubbed, bumped, and soiled; joints and hinges weak, with vellum to upper split. Slightly soiled; some showthrough; title reinforced at inner margin.

In very good condition overall.

Corelli's Op. 5 sonatas circulated widely in manuscript during the composer's lifetime and after his death. With its fine calligraphic titles and bold, nearly oversized, notation, the present copy may have been a gift. The consistent soiling to the lower right margin indicates that the manuscript was used for performance; the large size of the notation may have aided a violinist in reading over the shoulder of a harpsichordist or organist playing the continuo part.

The first six sonatas are "church" sonatas, while the second six (with a separate title) are "chamber" sonatas, the last of which is actually the Follia, one of the most renowned compositions of Baroque string literature.

"Despite the modest size of his output, comprising six collections of instrumental music and a handful of other authentic works, and its virtual restriction to three genres – solo sonata, trio sonata and concerto – Corelli exercised an unparalleled influence during his lifetime and for a long time afterwards. This influence, which affected form, style and instrumental technique in equal measure, was most closely felt in Italy, and in particular in Rome, where he settled in early manhood, but soon spread beyond local and national confines to become a European phenomenon. As a violinist, teacher of the violin and director of instrumental ensembles Corelli imposed standards of discipline that were unusually strict for their period and helped to lay the groundwork for further progress along the same lines during the 18th century. To Corelli belong equally the distinctions of being the first composer to derive his fame exclusively from instrumental composition, the first to owe his reputation in large part to the activity of music publishers, and the first to produce ‘classic’ instrumental works which were admired and studied long after their idiom became outmoded." Michael Talbot in Grove Music Online.

An attractive manuscript copy of these influential sonatas.

Item #39899

Price: $2,000.00  other currencies