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Classics with NOW: Handel, Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op 6 No. 6

Handel’s set of twelve concerti grossi, Op 6, were composed over a few weeks in 1739, and first published for subscribers in the same year. It is thought that Handel was influenced by Italian composer, Corelli, who had also written a set of twelve Concerti Grossi, and under the same opus number, Opus 6, published in 1714.

The sixth Concerto Grosso in this set, No. 6 in G minor, opens with a melancholic, slow movement, followed by a chromatic, fugal Allegro. Considered the crowning glory of the concerto, the third movement is a musette, a French dance, and the concerto ends with two Allegro movements.

This performance of the piece was directed by Rachel Podger, and took place at Cheltenham Town Hall in 2016.

Release date:

Duration:

16 minutes