Amsterdam Corelli Collective

Isidro Albarreal Delgado (violin)
Alba Encinas (violin)
Ryuko Reid (violin)
David Rabinovici (violin)
Asuka Sumi (violin)
Christine Verdon (violin)
Hannah Visser (violin)
Kim White (violin)
Isa Juárez (viola)
Annemarie Kosten-Dür (viola)
Irene Kok (cello)
Maximiliano Segura Sánchez (cello)
Zaynab Martin (violone)
Mario Sarrechia (harpsichord)

A Homage

Corelli’s butterfly effect

In this unique concert, Amsterdam Corelli Collective weave a tapestry of spoken word and music to pay tribute to one of the most influential violinists of the baroque era, Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713). A Homage presents the story of Corelli’s butterfly effect, charting the history of the concerto grosso alongside dramatic declarations of text written about Corelli during and shortly after his lifetime.

www.amsterdamcorellicollective.com
www.facebook.com/amsterdamcorellicollective

Artist message

We present a concert that pays tribute to the main figure in baroque Italian string music, Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713). A man of fame and fortune, Corelli had become one of the most important violinists by the beginning of eighteenth century, entertaining royalty and nobility with his musical talents and leaving a legacy in his wake.

We are a historically informed string ensemble of fourteen musicians inspired by the music of Corelli. Passionate about historically informed performance practice and wishing to share our music with a wider audience, we present an exciting concert that combines music, drama and a colourful history to explore the legacy of our namesake. Using texts written about Corelli during and after his lifetime, we weave dramatic declarations into a musical program by Stradella, Corelli, Handel, Geminiani and Locatelli.

A Homage traces the life of Corelli through musical works and contemporary sources of those he was influenced by and those he influenced, whilst showcasing the diversity within the concerto grosso genre. We invite you to join us on a journey that tells the story of Corelli’s butterfly effect.

About the project

Amsterdam Corelli Collective present a project close to the heart of the ensemble. It is not only the project that is a homage to Corelli (1653-1713) – in 2013,  on the 300th anniversary of Corelli’s death the ensemble itself were formed as a tribute to the great composer. Amsterdam Corelli Collective are united by the desire to play the string music of Arcangelo Corelli and the belief that his music must reach a wider audience.

Corelli was one of the most renowned Italian violinists of his time with his influence is still felt today. His famous set of compositions, XII Concerti Grossi, Opus 6, published in 1714, inspired composers both during and after his lifetime. Performing one of these concerti grossi alongside the concerti grossi of his contemporaries and students, A Homage reflects on Corelli’s butterfly effect using the development of the concerto grosso genre to help tell the story. Music by Corelli, Stradella, Handel, Geminiani and Locatelli will be performed on period instruments, bringing together both the well-known and the lesser-known repertoire from the baroque era in an exhilarating program of Italian-inspired string music.

Known for their passionate performances and electric stage presence, Amsterdam Corelli Collective are committed to keeping the concert experience fresh and exciting for both performer and listener. A Homage is a unique project that weaves together music and drama to illuminate Corelli’s legacy. Extracts from historical sources will be read aloud alongside the musical program, bringing the music and history of Corelli alive. Through tracing the journey of the concerto grosso and Corelli’s influence, A Homage offers an opportunity to look in closer detail at the fusion of cultures during the baroque era. Corelli’s butterfly effect takes the listener from Rome to Germany, England and the Netherlands to bring together a rich programme of music, drama, history and culture. This promises to be a concert of energy, insight and passion.

About the concert programme

Overview and aims

Amsterdam Corelli Collective are proud to present a project that pays tribute to one of Italy’s greatest contributors to Italian string music. Having formed the ensemble in order to play the orchestral string music of Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713), Amsterdam Corelli Collective wish to bring this great composer to a wider audience. They feel privileged to be able to create and develop a project that has the opportunity of being performed in two beautiful Slovenian cultural heritage sites.

A Homage is a project of two elements: music and drama. At its core lies the ensemble’s fundamental belief in the importance and relevance of history and culture. It has been created with the aim of developing Amsterdam Corelli Collective as a multifaceted ensemble, broadening the repertoire of performed baroque music and attracting a diverse public to their performances. The project combines historically informed performance practice and programming with innovative performance concepts. A Homage brings together the two disciplines of music and drama, exploring their differences and using them to feed into one another, with the ultimate aim of combining them. Through weaving dramatic speech into the musical program, reading aloud historical sources relating to Corelli during and after his lifetime, Amsterdam Corelli Collective will take the audience on a journey to explore Corelli’s butterfly effect.

Musical program

By the beginning of the eighteenth century, Corelli had become the leading figure of Italian string music, leading to a new generation of composers. No previous composer of instrumental music had generated such an influence during his or her lifetime and Corelli’s music and popularity quickly spread from where he worked in Rome to the rest of Europe.

The musical aspect of A Homage has been carefully selected to not only show the reach and influence of Corelli, but to also chart the development of the concerto grosso model. Another objective was to perform works of lesser-known composers and less frequently performed works, alongside two familiar baroque composers: Arcangelo Corelli and George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). This will broaden the repertoire of performed baroque music and display the diversity of composers who were influenced by Corelli, highlighting the differences between the composers through their shared use of the concerto grosso form.

The musical program begins with the founding father of the concerto grosso, Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682), and his Sinfonia in D major from Cantata per il santissimo Natale. An influential composer in Rome during the seventeenth century, Corelli himself played in the orchestra that premiered many of Stradella’s work. It was this contact with Stradella’s concerto grosso model that inspired Corelli to write his now famous collection XII Concerti Grossi, Opus 6. The program includes one of Corelli’s own works from this opus, Concerto Grosso in B-flat major, Op. 6 No. 5, which is the springboard for the rest of the musical program in A Homage.

Handel wrote his own Concerti Grossi, Opus 6, and this can in some ways be viewed as his homage to Corelli. Whilst there are rumours of rivalry between the two composers, having worked together in Rome, there is no denying the influence Corelli had on Handel. Amsterdam Corelli Collective are excited to put these two composers side-by-side, performing Handel’s Concerto Grosso in A minor, Op. 6 No. 4.

What follows is Concerto Grosso in C minor, Op. 2 No. 2, by Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762), a student of Corelli in Rome who found fame in England. His Opus 2 and Opus 3 are strongly influenced by Corelli and, despite composing all his output in England, his Concerto Grosso in C minor, Op. 2 No. 2, contains distinctive aspects of the Roman tradition.

The final and exciting leg of the concerto grosso tour is with Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764) who, for a short time, was also a student of Corelli. He is considered by some to be the father of modern instrumental virtuosity. In 1729 Locatelli moved to Amsterdam, remaining there until his death. Amsterdam Corelli Collective perform his Introduttioni Teatrali in E-flat major, Op. 4 No. 10, which is also modelled on Corelli’s Opus 6. It develops the concerto grosso towards the solo concerto form, with elements of the gallant style beginning to show.

The project

Amsterdam Corelli Collective are honoured and excited to be performing in Slovenia, in locations of historical and cultural importance. It is their belief that culture and history are invaluable and must be appreciated, explored and shared. With these beliefs at their core, Amsterdam Corelli Collective have In A Homage created a project that, through delving into the culture and history of Corelli, also delves into the culture and history of Italy, Germany, England, and the Netherlands.

Amsterdam Corelli Collective have chosen to realise this project by using speech and drama, another discipline with a rich culture and history. The idea sprung from the need to interact with their music environment and each other in a different way, believing that finding new ways to do this creates a richer experience for both performer and listener.

For most musicians and performers the stage is a familiar space that never feels the same. To push themselves further as artists, Amsterdam Corelli Collective will explore this paradox on stage, taking themselves out of their comfort zones to find new ways of expressing themselves away from their instruments. In conjunction with Ars Ramovš and Ambronay Cultural Encounter Centre, Amsterdam Corelli Collective look forward to being able to work with professional actors, learning how to use the stage and their bodies in new ways. It will be kept relevant to their aims of bringing the music of Corelli and his contemporaries to a wider audience by using historical sources written about and relating to Corelli’s life and work. These texts will then be performed by members of the ensemble using speech and movement. Engaging with these texts in this way will not only push the musicians as performers, but will on an intellectual level also deepen their understanding of the cultural and historical significance of the music that they play. This will in turn be translated to their audiences and enhance the concert-going experience of their audience.

Conclusion

A Homage is a unique, multidimensional and ambitious project that is set to be an exhilarating experience for both the audience and ensemble. Through their commitment and passion to early music and live performance, Amsterdam Corelli Collective will dare to be different. They believe that it is important for young artists to be involved in festivals like the Seviqc Brežice that help promote historically informed performance practice and are therefore honoured to be a part of this festival. Finally, Amsterdam Corelli Collective wish to share the music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the same reason that the music was written: to stir the passions and move the soul.