Corelli’s “Christmas Concerto”

This holiday season, join musicians of OSL for a festive evening with two giants of the Baroque Italian concerto, Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi. Both composers shaped the concerto in distinct ways—Corelli through the concerto grosso, emphasizing interplay between soloists and ensemble, and Vivaldi through the rise of the virtuosic solo concerto that would dominate the 18th century. 

Central to this evening’s program are their Christmas concerti, a uniquely Italian tradition inspired by the pifferari and zampognari—itinerant musicians who came down from the hills from shepherding villages at Christmastime to play shawms and bagpipes in town squares. Composers used simple melodies and lilting rhythms, to evoke the musicians’ pastoral, rustic sound.

Corelli’s Concerto Grosso in G Minor, written around 1690 and inscribed Fatto per la notte di Natale (“made for the night of Christmas”), is an early contribution to the sub-genre. Its closing Pastorale unfolds in flowing phrases, conjuring a hushed reverence. Vivaldi’s Concerto in G minor, “Il riposo, per il Santissimo Natale,” composed two decades later, is replete with textures and timbres that reflect Vivaldi’s gift for vivid storytelling, with muted violins in the final movement creating an ethereal glow reminiscent of the Nativity.