Concerto Grosso No. 8 in G Minor

Subtitled “Fatto per la notte di Natale” (Written for Christmas Eve), Corelli’s Concerto Grosso No. 8, Op. 6 is a particularly exquisite example of a Church Sonata, whose six short movements are each based around the interplay between a solo group (two violins and a cello) and the full string ensemble. It's a work built around contrasts—of mood and texture. We hear that in microcosm at the start: A stern, almost brusque, introduction opens out into a melting sequence of suspensions before the second movement bursts in with bustle and clamour. The pattern continues right through the work, which finishes—unusually—with a lilting “Pastorale”, a Siciliano, whose origins as a shepherd’s dance invites us to picture the Nativity itself. The minor key is a curious choice for Christmas. Rather than all-out rejoicing, it’s a piece that captures the mystery and the wonder of the season, celebrating birth while remembering the death still to come.