Discovering Music

Stephen Johnson unpicks the ideas and background behind Corelli's ground breaking set of Opus 6 Violin Concertos which includes the celebrated "Christmas Concerto". He joins the members of the European Union Baroque Orchestra directed from the violin by Enrico Onofri, and violinist Margaret Faultless, for a look at how some of the artistic innovations of late 17th Century Rome, focused the mind of a young violin virtuoso, Arcangelo Corelli, and prompted him to create what became the foundation of the influential and ubiquitous late baroque concerto. Stephen fosues on three concertos from the Opus 6 set of 12: Numbers 4, 8 and 12, which includes the famous Christmas Concerto. The programme was recorded as part of the 2010 Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music.