Concerto Grosso in G major

At a glance

• What it isa movement from Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 1. Marked Allegro, played fast.
• Who, when, whyHandel, then fifty-four, wrote all twelve in London in the autumn of 1739 and published them as a set the following year.
• What to listen forthe moments when one theme appears in several instruments in turn.

Listen for

• First entryone part brings out a clear theme, and the others enter with it one after another.
• Buildingas more parts join, the sound thickens and the crossing lines are woven like close fabric.
• The endall the parts finish together with force.

When it was written

In the autumn of 1739, in little more than a month, Handel wrote twelve concerti grossi in a burst. The following year he published them by subscription, and this set of twelve is today his Op. 6. In a concerto grosso a small group of solo instruments trades with a large string band; Handel took as his model the set of the same name by the Italian composer Corelli.

At the time Italian opera was losing favor in London, and Handel was turning to oratorios and odes with English words. These concertos were played between the acts of such performances to entertain the audience. Born in Germany, trained in Italy and active in England, Handel mixed in this set the musical styles of the many countries he had passed through.