“CONCERTO GROSSO –  in G minor, Opus 6, No. 8” – 15 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

My favorite classical holiday work isn’t Handel’s “Messiah” or the previously mentioned “Christmas Oratorio” by Bach.

It’s this, perhaps the best-known but hardly the only work by Italian composer Arcangelo Corelli. He was an accomplished violinist in the late 17th and early 18th century and he composed several almost-revolutionary classical pieces. He influenced Bach among others, as he was renowned throughout Europe.

I love this part of the concerto because it summons the majesty of the holiday. It seems joyful and respectful.

And he’s Italian.

Here’s the Christmas Concerto performed by a chamber ensemble of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony: