01	No. 12 in D - Allegro, ma non presto - Adagio - Vivace						04:57
	02	No. 12 in D - Largo						00:45
	03	No. 12 in D - Allegro, ma non presto						03:43
	04	No 9 in E minor - Allegro						03:27
	05	No 9 in E minor - Largo						03:17
	06	No 9 in E minor - Allegro						02:45
	07	No 9 in E minor - Largo						00:50
	08	No 9 in E minor - Allegro						03:23
	09	No 2 in A minor - Allegro						02:06
	10	No 2 in A minor - Largo						02:57
	11	No 2 in A minor - Allegro						02:18
	12	No 6 in G minor - Grave - Vivace - Adagio						03:55
	13	No 6 in G minor - Largo - Adagio						02:37
	14	No 6 in G minor - Vivace						01:30
	15	No 3 in E - Vivace						02:15
	16	No 3 in E - Largo - Allegro - Adagio						02:22
	17	No 3 in E - Allegro						02:27
	18	No 8 in C minor - Vivace - Adagio						04:15
	19	No 8 in C minor - Allegro						02:48
	20	Concerto a 4 violini in A minor - Largo	Musica Antiqua Koln					01:35
	21	Concerto a 4 violini in A minor - Allegro	Musica Antiqua Koln					02:01
	22	Concerto a 4 violini in A minor - Largo	Musica Antiqua Koln					01:19
	23	Concerto a 4 violini in A minor - Allegro	Musica Antiqua Koln					02:06

I Musici : Mariana Sirbu - violin, Antonio Ferez - violin

Musica Antiqua Koln (Reinhard Goebel)

Giuseppe Torelli
Country Italy
Birth Apr 22, 1658 in Verona, Italy
Death Feb 8, 1709 in Bologna, Italy
Period Baroque

Biography
Giuseppe Torelli was a Baroque composer who served as an essential link in the evolution of the concerto grosso and solo concerto forms. His works were published in seven collections of concertos, sinfonias, and sonatas, all appearing chronologically. Thus, one can trace his progress from the rather conventional style of the early chamber-oriented concertos and sonatas to the more expansive and stronger efforts of the middle sets. The last two of his collections, twelve Concerti musicali and twelve Concerti grossi con una pastorale are the flowering of his efforts in the these genres. The Concerti musicali are more deftly written than his previous efforts, with ritornellos taking a more prominent role, while the Concerti grossi show his full grasp of structure and a crucial balancing of the roles of the soloist and the orchestral players.
Torelli was born in Verona, Italy, on April 22, 1658. Not much is known about his early years, though it has been suggested that Giuliano Massaroti was one of Torelli's earliest teachers, owing to his close proximity in Verona. Torelli departed Verona in the early 1680s and shortly afterward may have taken the post as Maestro di Cappella at the Imola Cathedral in the Bologna province. An accomplished string player, he also began studying composition with G. A. Perti around this time. Torelli's first published works were the ten Sonate a 3, for violin and basso continuo, and twelve Concerto da camera for two violins and basso continuo. Both appeared in 1686, and were probably written shortly after his arrival in Bologna.

In 1687, Torelli published his third collection of works, this one a set of twelve Sinfonie, for two to four instruments. His next (1688) was the twelve Concertino per camera, for violin and cello. Around 1690 Torelli began writing his first trumpet works, the Suonata con stromenti e tromba. The composer's growing interest in the trumpet, unusual for a string player, likely owed something to the virtuoso trumpeter Giovanni Pellegrino Brandi, who occasionally performed with the San Petronio orchestra, of which Torelli was a member.

In 1692 Torelli published another collection of works, the Sinfonie a 3 e concerti a 4. Four years later he departed Bologna, eventually reaching Ansbach, Germany, where he engaged in some joint musical ventures with his friend, Pistocchi, the famous castrato and composer. There are accounts that during this time, Torelli toured Germany with Pistocchi.

Torelli was appointed maestro di concerto in Ansbach, probably in 1697. It appears that during his tenure there, he wrote very little music, apparently finding the duties demanding. The composer was known to suffer from hypochondria in his later years, and the condition may well have been worsening for him while away from home.

Torelli spent some time in Vienna but was back in Bologna in 1701, quickly landing a position with the newly-formed San Petronio cappella musicale. Torelli and Pistocchi seem to have appeared in a number of concerts together in the early 1700s, most likely earning substantial fees. Relatively little is known about Torelli in his final years, except that he composed little music. His only significant effort was the twelve Concerti grossi con una pastorale, Op. 8, which features one of his more popular pieces, the so-called Christmas Eve Concerto (No. 6). Torelli died on February 8, 1709. -- Robert Cummings





Work(s) Overview

Description
Baroque composer Giuseppe Torelli (1658 - 1709) is generally associated with the development of the solo concerto and concerto grosso forms. While he did not single-handedly create them, he was an essential part of their evolution. He also composed a significant body of works for trumpet and strings.
Although most of Torelli's compositions are difficult to date exactly, many were published chronologically over a period of 23 years, thus allowing one to observe his stylistic progress. The first two collections to appear were both from 1686, the Op. 1 Sonate a 3, a set of ten trio sonatas, and 12 Concerto da camera, Op. 2, for two violins and basso continuo. The latter is really a suite of dance pieces and does not display much progress from the rather indistinct style of Op. 1.

His next three efforts were the 12 "symphonies" (Sinfonie), Op. 3 (1687), for two to four instruments, 12 chamber concertos, Op. 4 (1688), for violin and cello (perhaps one of the earliest duet collections for those two instruments) and 12 Sinfonie a 3 e concerti a 4, Op. 5 (1692), which consists of six trio sonatas and six concertos, with the composer calling for the doubling of both the three players in the sonatas and the four in the concertos, thus requiring relatively large forces for that time. This expansion of the ensemble was a key step in the development of the concerto form, for it allowed the composer to specify a contrast between solo passages and those for full ensemble. In these early works Torelli also groped toward the organizing principle of the ritornello, the refrain for full ensemble that might appear in the various keys through which a movement passed. The Opp. 4 and 5 works are unusual in their instrumentation and divulge some development in the composer's style, but are not watershed efforts like the collections in Opp. 6 and 8.

Unfortunately, Op. 7 was lost. The remaining two sets here, the Concerti musicali (1698), consisting of two violin concertos and ten other works with concerto-like features, and the Op. 8 Concerti grossi con una pastorale per il SS Natale (Concerti Grossi with a Pastoral for the Church of Ss. Natale)(1709), comprised of both concertos and concerti grossi, are masterful. This last collection may include Torelli's most brilliant compositions, for here the composer deftly shapes structures and imaginatively balances the roles of the concerto soloist and the accompanying ensemble players.

Torelli's trumpet works divulge his considerable skills in what was a rather alien genre for a string-playing composer. He wrote sonatas, concertos, and sinfonias for trumpet and various accompanying ensembles. His works include the 1690 Suonata con stromenti e tromba (Sonata for Trumpet and Strings), Sonata a 5, due trombe, e violini unisoni (Sonata for Five Players, with Two Trumpets and Unison Violins) (1692), Sinfonia con 2 trombe et altri strumenti (Sinfonia for TwoTrumpets and Other Instruments), and Sinfonia con 2 trombe e instromenti (Sinfonia for Two Trumpets and Ensemble), the latter two likely dating to the early 1690s. Most of the trumpet works were written in the late 1680s to the mid-1690s, probably for the virtuoso trumpeter Giovanni Pellegrino Brandi. Although Handel's music has given rise to connotations of outdoors performance for trumpet music of the Baroque, Torelli's trumpet pieces were ecclesiastical works. In sum, Torelli must be assessed as one of the seminal figures in the development of the concerto form, and the author of at least a handful of genuine masterpieces. -- Robert Cummings




I Musici
Credits All Credits (108)
Ensemble (87)
Orchestra (14)
Unspecified Credit (5)

Biography
After hearing I Musici perform, Arturo Toscanini remarked, "Twelve individual instrumental masters, and together the finest chamber orchestra in the world." This Italian ensemble has long attracted international attention for their emphasis on brilliance, strength of attack, and high level of discipline, beginning with their first performances of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Italian music. The group was formed in March 1952 by 12 students at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome, who developed a common interest in pre-Classical music during conservatory meetings. Upon origination the ensemble was composed of six violins, two violas, two cellos, a double bass, and a harpsichord; there were three women and nine men. Nearly all of the original violinists were pupils of the same Accademia teacher, Remy Principe. The name "I Musici," literally "The Musicians," was chosen by the performers to reflect their enthusiasm for the spirit of the music of an epoch in which "professionalism" had not yet assumed its present pervasive significance. They came together with the single purpose of expressing their deep love for music, and the purity of their intention is heard at performances and on recordings.
Making their debut performance at the Accademia in 1952, I Musici began to achieve international fame the following year. Their career developed rapidly, beginning with concert tours throughout Europe. They then toured Central, North, and South America, South Africa, Japan, and Australia. They have also played at many music festivals, including those of Salzburg, Holland, Graz, Menton, Venice, York, Copenhagen, Aix-en-Provence, and Edinburgh. Early in their career, they primarily played the music of Italian Baroque composers such as Albinoni, Bononcini, Corelli, Locatelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, Torelli, and Vivaldi, later taking on the non-Baroque works of Bach, Barber, Bartуk, Britten, Handel, Hindemith, Martin, and Respighi. One of the most characteristic (and widely influential) features of the ensemble is its lack of a conductor during performance. Felix Ayo, leader of the group between 1952 - 1968, has said that "to perform without a conductor is normal, I think. It is in the true tradition of the йlite music of the Italian Baroque. One finds a conductor only later, after Vivaldi and Corelli. Before, with the concerto grosso and the concerto da camera, there was only the first violin giving the start and tempo with some head movements. And that was all." Among I Musici, Ayo said, music making is a democratic experience. "During rehearsals, the music is discussed by everyone. Everyone's opinion has the same value. It is by mutual agreement that we finally decide how certain details should be handled." The group does have a leader, however; the post has changed hands over the years between Ayo, Roberto Michelucci (1968 - 1972); conductor, music director, and virtuoso violinist Salvatore Accardo (1972 - 1977); Boccherini Quintet and Carmirelli Quartet founder Pina Carmirelli (1977 - 1986); and Federico Agostini.

I Musici over the years has constantly built upon its strengths, and the group members to apply the same dedication to their artistry as they did upon formation. Their performances can be heard on over 45 recordings, almost all under the Philips label, at times with flute and harp. -- Meredith Gailey