Arcangelo Corelli
Epochal works of European chamber music
Only few works in music history can adorn themselves with the attribute 'epoch-making'. Arcangelo Corelli's trio sonatas are among them. With his Sonate da chiesa Op. 1 and Sonate da camera Op. 2, Corelli, in 1681 and 1685 respectively, laid the foundation for a genre which was to become the authoritative chamber music genre for almost 100 years. It was only in 1781 that it was superseded by Joseph Haydn's String Quartets Op. 33, which also constituted a work group of epoch-making significance. From the historical point of view, even the string quartet is a 'child' of the trio sonata; thus, Corelli's significance as founder of the European chamber music genre cannot be valued too highly.
As a consequence, the Wiener Urtext Edition publishes a representative selection of 12 of a total of 48 trio sonatas. The new edition was based on original editions, the first Italian reprints and the important Amsterdam edition of Roger. In addition to parts for the melodic instruments, the new edition also contains a continuo score with realised, easily playable basso continuo. On the basis of this material and due to the medium technical demands, the edition is perfectly suitable for starting to play chamber music pieces.
The First Urtext Edition of Corelli’s Violin Sonatas Op. 5
Arcangelo Corelli’s Violin Sonatas Op. 5 are among those works in violin literature that mark a new epoch, and until this day they have been part of the standard repertory of every violinist. Therefore it is all the more astonishing that up to the Corelli year 2003 there had not been any Urtext edition of these important works. This gap has been filled by the two-volume edition of the Wiener Urtext Edition. The text is based on the first edition which Corelli himself supervised. This edition includes the ornaments for sonatas nos. 1–6, published by Roger in Amsterdam in 1710 as well as Geminiani’s ornaments for sonata no. 9.
The notes on performance practice by Baroque specialist Reinhard Goebel from Cologne are useful suggestions for an appropriate interpretation.