Corelli Concerto for a Christmas Night, Vivaldi's The 4 Seasons in its entirety

Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 by Arcangelo Corelli, better known as the Christmas Concerto, was commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and published posthumously in 1714. The concerto bears the inscription Fatto per la note de Natale (made for Christmas Eve). The concerto is written for an ensemble composed of two concertino violins and cello, ripieno strings and continuo.

Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons is a set of four violin concerti, composed in 1723. It is probably Vivaldi's best known composition and the most frequently performed musical work in the world. It is a violin concerto in which a violin plays accompanied by a chamber orchestra. The content of each concerto is varied and evokes each of the seasons to which it relates. For example, winter is punctuated by pizzicato notes on the high strings, reminiscent of an icy rain, while summer evokes a storm in the final movement, prepared by the thunder rumbling several times in the movement.

Program and cast

Orchestra: Ensemble Helios

Direction: Glen Rouxel