Corelli: Violin Sonatas, Op. 5, Nos. 1-12 - Complete [Import]

Arcangelo Corelli (Composer), Andrew Manze (Performer), Richard Egarr (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Andrew Manze, Richard Egarr
• Composer: Arcangelo Corelli
• Audio CD (March 11, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi
• ASIN: B000076CW2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,978 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pure italian baroque, August 27, 2003

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drollere (Sebastopol, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Corelli: Violin Sonatas, Op. 5, Nos. 1-12 - Complete (Audio CD)

this is really fine music. corelli is the paragon of the "italian" style of baroque (at least until vivaldi caught bach's attention), and these sonatas are perhaps finer than the italianate sonatas by handel. there is marvelous poetry and variety in these pieces, brought forward by the spare instrumentation of violin, bass and harpsichord, and everything is wrapped in corelli's creamy, effortless, halcyon musical world.

my reservation is that manze at times takes these pieces with a raspy vigor that is better left for tartini. the "folias" variations in particular, while tremendous fun and inspiringly ornamented, omit that key (and historically correct) baroque attribute known as decorum. the equally virtuosic recordings by elizabeth wallfisch have the edge on that point.

by the way, if you enjoy this recording, i strongly urge you to get corelli's magnificent concerti grossi, a true pinnacle in the form and one of the great achievements of baroque music.

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, September 2, 2003

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"original_instrument_fan" (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corelli: Violin Sonatas, Op. 5, Nos. 1-12 - Complete (Audio CD)

I usually think of Corelli as nice "background music," pleasant, but without the emotional depth of Vivaldi, Bach or Handel. However, with this disc I find myself stopping and losing myself in the beautiful tones of Manze's baroque violin. The playing is superb and subtle, revealing these pieces as intimate and poetic. Harmonia Mundi's recording quality is excellent as well. Highly recommended. I can't wait to see what the venerable English Concert does under Manze's new leadership.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music to delight the head--and heart, September 13, 2004

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A reader and a writer (Arlington, VA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corelli: Violin Sonatas, Op. 5, Nos. 1-12 - Complete (Audio CD)

Confession: I have never loved these sonatas. Respected them, yes, of course; but with a polite detachment that their exclusively intellectual and technical achievements seemed to merit.

Well, this album changed all that. It's a masterly performance, effortlessly virtuosic, that shows forth the music in all its lapidary clarity. More than that, though: it is also luminously expressive, replete with moments of such unadorned and lyrical tenderness that the heart opens up, amazed.

For those who think they know this music no less than those who know they do not, Manze and Egarr's achievement is an exquisite revelation.