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In 18th century Europe, perhaps no figure loomed as large in the eyes of his contemporaries as Arcangelo Corelli, whose music was still being republished more than 100 years after his death. You could say that the fittingly named “Archangel” (as we like to call him) was sort of like if Chicago basketball legend Michael Jordan was an Italian violinist and composer of the baroque era. Because Corelli was such a formidable cultural icon, many of Europe’s other most notable musicians wrote music inspired by the Archangel, mimicking his style, transcribing or re-orchestrating pieces he had written, and deifying him.
Corelli did seem to inhabit a supernatural realm when he played his violin. While performing, his normally mild demeanor transformed. His eyes were said to “roll back” and “glow red as fire” as he “tormented the violin,” improvising his way through his pieces and convincing his listeners to feel things they had never felt before. In other words, listeners were in awe of his godlike control over the room’s vibes. After the star’s death in 1713, his cult lived on: fascination with and admiration for Corelli’s music shaped the course of musical change in 18th century Europe, and his legendary name was still being whispered in musical circles well into the 1800s.
In this program, we seek not only to share with you some of our favourite Corelli pieces, but also to explore the profound and lasting influence of his music on other musicians–even today! (That’s why we’re playing this show.) In doing so, perhaps we get a little closer to the divine, the image of “the Archangel” he has come to embody, and perhaps we take a first step in initiating ourselves into his cult too…
