Search - Maurice Steger :: Mr. Corelli in London-Recorder Concertos, La Follia

Any eighteenth-century English gentleman wishing to signal his impeccable taste in music would often do so by referring to the works of Arcangelo Corelli, whose oeuvre was considered to be beyond reproach in matters of style and construction. The period saw an explosion of amateur musical societies all over the country. Gentlemen attending these societies could try their hand at fiddling and piping, and their meetings were usually enlivened by food, alcohol and tobacco. Between 1725 and 1750, over fifty clubs subscribed to Corelli reprints and publications. Corelli was literally written into their founding constitutions. English composers and musicians took advantage of this opportunity, creating arrangements, divisions and other re-workings of Corelli s compositions, often featuring spectacular, fully notated ornaments. Recorder virtuoso Maurice Steger, together with The English Concert led by Laurence Cummings, performs a dazzling selection of concertos and other works fashioned from Corelli s visionary Opus 5 Violin Sonatas, penned by Francesco Geminiani and other admirers.