At the end of his life, the Italian composer Arcangelo Corelli prepared his classic set of 12 concerti grossi for publication; they were published in 1714, shortly after Corelli's death as his Op. 6. Each of these dozen works was scored for strings, with solo parts for two violins and a cello. In 1739, Handel implicitly paid tribute to Corelli, with his own great set of 12 concerti, also Op. 6. While Corelli's concerti were refined through years of performances, Handel's set was produced in about five weeks: either Handel's Muse was particularly strong, or his creditors especially anxious to be paid!

Handel was able to work so fast in part because several of the concerto movements were recycled from works for other forces (and in some cases from music by other composers).  The set of concerti were sold by subscription for a fee of two guineas; Handel attracted over 100 interested musicians and members of the aristocracy.

Following Corelli’s example, Handel employed a concertino group of two violins and a cello in the bulk of his own Op. 6 set, the one exception being the seventh concerto (performed by Orchestra Seattle last season).

For the outer movements of his D major concerto Handel recycled the three-part overture from his recently completed Ode for St. Cecilia's Day — although it in turn had borrowed material from a set of keyboard pieces, Componimenti musicali, by the (now relatively obscure) Austrian composer Gottlieb Muffat (1690-1770).  Today this would likely bring about litigation, but in Handel's time (long before any copyright or intellectual property law was on the books) it was fairly standard practice.  This is not the only instance in which Handel borrowed from Muffat; another is the overture to the oratorio Theodora.

The first two sections of the Ode for St. Cecilia's Day overture begin the concerto grosso in the style of a French overture: a slow, regal opening dominated by dotted-rhythm figures, answered by a fast fugal section.  Handel made few substantive changes when adapting these two movements, although the solo phrases given to oboes in the Ode are here transferred to the string concertino. 

Ordinarily a slow movement would come next for contrast, but in this instance Handel instead follows the fugue with an even faster Presto in 3/8 time, featuring racing sixteenth notes answered by humorous staccato outbursts.   For the ensuing Largo in 3/2 time, the key shifts to B minor and the solemn phrases are passed between the solo concertino and the full orchestra.  The key returns to D major for another spirited Allegro, the theme of which was borrowed from a Scarlatti keyboard sonata.  The concerto concludes with a graceful minuet, drawn verbatim from the closing pages of the Ode for St. Cecilia's Day overture.

© 2004 Jeff Eldridge