Corelli wrote a lot of stuff like that; the one you posted is known as the 'Christmas Concerto' but he wrote 11 other Concerti Grossi too. That just happens to be the most popular one.

For other similarly sublime baroque music though, you can't go wrong with period performances* of stuff like Bach violin concertos (see Rachel Podger playing the 'double' e.g.), the Brandenburg Concertos (no. 3 is the most famous) or Truls Mork's recordings of the CPE Bach concertos (that one's on Spotify).

Corelli's most famous Italian contemporary though was Vivaldi, who was stupendously prolific, writing more than 500 concertos, besides a huge catalogue of other works. (Corelli, by comparison, wrote very little indeed). Vivaldi's most famous work is, of course, the Four Seasons, which is horrendously overplayed but nevertheless a magnificent work. Take your pick of his concertos though as they're all fearlessly inventive and interesting to listen to.

*to get the wonderful purity of sound that's inherent in the writing there's nothing better than performances which are played on baroque instruments (as opposed to their modern equivalents). There are many famous groups who specialise in 'historically informed' performances.


TLDR: This is fucking brilliant.

Heard Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 (2nd part which is used quite a bit to tug at the heartstrings by many). It becomes more effective on realising the words being sung were inspired by the scrawl on a wall of a Gestapo cell. Jesus.

Followed up by Speigel im Speigel by Arvo Part - was a laugh a minute at my house last night.

Ha! That's the autocorrected Bhrams (seriously, where's it pulled that from!)

Thanks igor, I did wonder if you were playing. Would be lovely to catch you performing one day

Thanks so much for the link too. Hours of listening set up now.

btw, I posted the Messiaen in part because it articulates a very different response to the suffering of POWs in Nazi-occupied Europe. It was written and first performed in a POW camp in Germany in 1941. Far from depressing or gloomy though, it is an ecstatic vision of a faith that allows one, albeit briefly, to transcend human suffering.

Going to the opera at Glyndebourne tomorrow. Have never been to an opera before. Should be interesting. That's as enthusiastic as I can get at the moment.

God but Mozart's Clarinet Concerto is gorgeous..

Glyndebourne (autocorrects to 'fly devoured') is a magnificent way to introduce yourself to opera.

As an introduction (for children) to classical music, I'd heartily recommend watching Ten Pieces, an initiative which is currently sweeping the nation, spearheaded by the BBC and the marvellous Nicola Benedetti, amongst others.

More info here.

Can't get much more authentic than Gardiner. Excellent recording.

The New Year's Day concert from Vienna on BBC as usual. It makes for good hangover TV.

it's a fairly spectacular venue. Quite a few Japanese in the audience this year.

Worth it for watching toffs clap to the Radetzky March though….


Strauss suffers from over exposure I feel.

Newish kid on the block

It is indeed an awesome piece.
Last night I was playing the St John Passion, which is also stunning, so I'd heartily recommend that you check that out too.

As for recordings, though Gardiner's recording will vary considerably from René Jacobs' in nuances of interpretation, the overall sound and feel of it will likely be similar. I haven't listened to them side-by-side to make an informed comparison but you certainly couldn't go wrong by choosing an excellent modern-instrument recording as a contrast instead.

Sadly, Harnoncourt's excellent 1985 recording with the Concertgebouw appears tricky to find at present in the UK. Chailly's 2009 recording with the Gewandhousorchester is also critically-acclaimed.

Personally I'd recommend Rattle's 2013 Berlin PO 'staged' performance, though it's only on DVD afaik. He also recently followed it up with a similar treatment of the John Passion. You can watch online or buy the DVDs here, here, here, and here.

Oops, I linked you to the wrong Harnoncourt. That one is an older period instrument recording. I can't find the Concertgebouw one at all at present. It was fashionable 50 years ago to use large forces and modern instruments for baroque music, so there were many such recordings from the likes of Karajan, Furtwangler et al, which can sound pretty ugly to contemporary ears, because of the over-indulgent romanticised aesthetic of the time. These days it's relatively rare for such works to be recorded on modern instruments at all (by the elite of the conducting/performing world) so Harnoncourt's performance with the Concertgebouw was a rare departure even for him.

The Maiden:

Pass me by! Oh, pass me by!
Go, fierce man of bones!
I am still young! Go, rather,
And do not touch me.
And do not touch me.

Death:

Give me your hand, you 
beautiful and tender form!
I am a friend, and come not to punish.
Be of good cheer! 
I am not fierce,
Softly shall you sleep in my arms!

I love some of the random and bizarre instruments which crackpot inventors have dreamt up over the centuries. My favourite though, has to be Da Vinci's Viola Organista.