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Score of Arcangelo Corelli's fifth through eight sonatas of his 12 trio sonatas, Opus 4, a set of sonate da camera ("chamber sonatas", in contrast to the more serious "church sonatas") written for two violins and basso continuo. Corelli was one of the first to make the distinction between the two types and was one of the most important composers to further develop them, which later influenced and evolved into the classical sonata.
Corellian chamber sonatas differ from church sonatas not because of the building's name where the music was performed (they both weren't played only in chambers or churches) but because they don't follow the same strict fugato textures; they are essentially a collection of dance pieces borrowed from their close relative, the French suite. The main characteristic of Corelli's standardization of his chamber sonatas is that almost all of them have four movements that are generally organized as:
1. A preludio (P) similar to the slow introductions of his church sonatas but more melodious and graceful.
2. An allemande (A) or a courante (C) of fast tempo.
3. A sarabande (S), or a courante if the previous one was an allemande, both of moderate or slow tempo. A slow introduction (SI) is also possible, especially in this set of twelve sonatas.
4. A gavotte (Ga) or a gigue (Gi) of fast tempo, most of the time.
This means that they generally follow the same tempo pattern as the church sonatas: Slow-Fast-Slow-Fast (SFSF), highlighting particularly the slow beginning - fast ending alternation. Corelli didn’t seem to be interested in the newly fashionable French dances of the moment like the minuet, the bourrée or the passepied.
00:00 - (Introduction)
00:15 - No. 5 in A minor (SFFF / P-A-C-Ga)
08:05 - No. 6 in E major ([SFSFS]FF / P-A-Gi)
14:51 - No. 7 in F major (SFSFF / P-C-SI-S-Ga)
22:09 - No. 8 in D minor (SFF / P-A-S)
Performers: Ensemble Aurora, Enrico Gatti
