In the 18th century, Italian culture dominated the imagination
of northern Europe
No northern-European court seemed complete without a slew of Italian musicians in service. The art collections of the northern-European salons were filled to the brim with Italian paintings. Italian opera houses sprung up all over Europe, even in France. Hoards of northern travellers journeyed to Italy to see the legendary cities of Rome, Milan, Florence and Venice, creating in their wake the new pilgrimage of “the grand tour”. Even whole new northern cities (such as St. Petersburg) were created after the Italian model.

In 18th-century northern Europe, the compositions of the Roman violinist and composer Arcangelo Corelli (1653 – 1713) represented the musical epitome of Italian style. Corelli was the very definition of the “Italianissimo” that the rest of Europe lusted over. His music was regarded as classic, as the ultimate example of Italian instrumental virtuosity, expression and taste.

Corelli became a phenomenon and acquired unprecedented international star status. He was seen to personify a style in the same way composers/performers such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrikx or Angus Young personify certain musical styles today. Corelli was the hard rocker of his day - a cult figure with a cult following. And, after his death, people continued to worship him. His works became the model for thousands of sonatas, his style the inspiration for a myriad of performers and his improvised figuration and ornamentation the stuff of legends. No other composer was so constantly reprinted throughout the 18th century: no other dead performer was imitated with such frenzy.Corelli in context – the art
Corelli’s music was popular with northern Europeans in the 18th century because it so clearly resonated with the artistic splendour of the environment from which it originated – Rome, during the second half of the 17th century. Corelli’s music could aurally transport them into the dazzling visual world of Borromini, Cortona and Bernini. It inspired visions of the palazzi, churches, frescoes, sculptures and paintings of that ultimate city of magnificence.

Corelli was also an avid art-lover, possessing at his death no less than 150 canvasses. His collection of paintings gives us a wonderful insight into his personal taste. Whilst for the bulk of the massive collection exact titled works cannot be traced, we do know exactly who painted each painting and how many paintings he owned of each artist: for example, 22 by Gaspard Dughet (G. Poussin), 22 by Trevisani, 6 by Onofri, 4 by Cignani, 4 by Maratta and 7 by the Dutch/Italian artist Van Wittel (Vanvitelli).

Like his paintings, Corelli’s musical aesthetic is of the erudite but highly sensual Italian master, full of deep rich colour, vibrant rhetorical emotive expression and grand gestures. It favours a tendency towards the extrovert and the extremes. It revels in spectacle and ornamentation. It is academic and learned, but never dry; spontaneous and red-blooded, but never haphazard. It connects the intellectual and the sensual, and combines earthiness with spirituality. Corelli unites all these elements with an impeccable sense of balance and structure. Within the bounds of his style, his aesthetic is not one where less is more, but one where even more can never be too much.

Corelli in context - the music
We tend now to associate improvisation with jazz, however, improvisation (or “extemporisation”, “figuration” or “ornamentation”) is a very important part of music-making in the Corellian tradition. Corelli provides the chart, the framework, the initial ideas, and the inspiration. The rest is up to the performer - to know what to do, and to go for it. For the solo violin (concertino) parts of the Concerti Grossi, we have taken 18th-century examples of Corelli’s own improvised ornaments as inspiration. They are florid to say the least.

The other reason that Corelli’s music is like jazz is the importance of the basso continuo. Like the rhythm section of a jazz ensemble, the continuo section of the orchestra provides the bass line, the harmonic structure and the rhythmic drive. Corelli liked his continuo large. We have mirrored this here with a large and varied continuo section for plenty of bass and groove, as Corelli would have liked it. Like jazz, the written-out part for the continuo players is skeletal, consisting only of bass notes with chord symbols. The rest they make up themselves.
The Dutch connection
This recording pays homage to Corelli and the man who made him famous during the 18th century – Estienne Roger, the Dutch music publisher.

Roger is largely responsible for fuelling the interest in Corelli’s compositions at the time and in making Corelli a cult figure in the 18th century. Roger’s many publications of Corelli’s chamber and orchestral works have also led to us knowing Corelli today.

As northern Europeans still impressed by Italian culture, we pay tribute to the historical Dutch role in the story of Corelli. For this performance, we have therefore chosen to play at the pitch common in northern Europe around the time the Concerti Grossi were first published in Amsterdam (around A=415Hz rather than low Roman pitch of around A=397Hz), but with a large-scale orchestra of the proportions used by Corelli.Corelli 1653 – 2003
This recording project of the New Dutch Academy celebrates the 350 years’ presence of the immortal Corelli in the world. The project highlights the esteem in which he was held in the 18th century and the gift of his musical legacy to posterity. The performance takes its inspiration from both Corelli’s visual and aural world, and combines some of Corelli’s best-loved works with some of his lesser-known gems. It aims to restore his pieces to their full glory and, in doing so, to pay tribute to the grand master himself – Corelli, who was and still is, “the Orpheus of our time”.

Simon Murphy, The Hague, September 2003.

THE NEW DUTCH ACADEMY
The New Dutch Academy (NDA) is a unique initiative created by the leading members of the new generation of early music performance specialists in the Netherlands.
Inspired by the visionary and enlightened ideals of both the eighteenth century and the legendary early music pioneers in the Netherlands, the NDA aims to stimulate the combination of research and performance resulting in exciting international concert programmes and multidisciplinary projects, and in doing so to provide a platform for the exploration of eighteenth century aesthetics and the exchange of ideas thereof. Through its international activities and its role as cultural ambassador, the NDA works independently but in close association with other international cultural institutions.
Launched in March 2002, through its own festival in the Netherlands’ oldest concert hall, the Felix Meritis in Amsterdam, broadcast on Dutch Radio 4 (NCRV), The New Dutch Academy has risen quickly to assume a very exciting position in the international cultural scene. The first NDA festival established several themes of interest and involved lecture recitals dealing with connections between art, music, cultural theory and aesthetics, as well as chamber and orchestral concerts which introduced the two NDA ensembles – The Chamber Orchestra and The Chamber Soloists. The arrival of The New Dutch Academy has been further confirmed by subsequent concert appearances which have included the Holland Festival of Early Music, Utrecht 2002 and the sold-out NDA Concertgebouw debut success.
Since this recording was made, the NDA has successfully presented its 2nd NDA Festival which profiled newly discovered symphonies by “the Dutch Haydn”, Joseph Schmitt. In September 2003, the NDA performed the closing concert of the Holland Festival of Early Music, Utrecht, celebrating the 350th anniversary of Corelli. The NDA Corelli SACD (PentaTone) with selections from the composer’s immortal Opus VI Concerti Grossi, first published in Amsterdam in 1714, will be released in September 2004.
In mid 2003, Volume I of the NDA Mannheim SACD series was released to a storm of European critical acclaim. Reviews excitedly described the recording as a revelation; musically impeccable, fresh and energetic; possessing a new sound, captivating and involving, bold and persuasive. The 2003 Gramophone Awards Issue described the disc as “vibrant, energetic” and “a sumptuous recording”. In the Dutch press, Klassieke Zaken said “breathtaking ... absolutely sublime”, Luister enthusiastically advised its readers to turn up their stereos “and get into this 18th century rock ‘n roll”, and that bastion of authenticity, the Tijdschrift Oude Muziek, stated that it “convinces on all fronts”.

SIMON MURPHY -
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE NEW DUTCH ACADEMY
Simon Murphy (1973) studied the Viola with Leonid Volovelsky, Performance, Musicology, and Fine Arts/Art Theory at The University of Sydney, and, after arriving in the Netherlands in 1996, Baroque and Classical Viola with Alda Stuurop at the Utrecht Conservatorium. For his studies he received support from The Ian Potter Foundation, Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten and the Voorzieningfonds voor Kunstenaars. He appears regularly as a chamber soloist at various international festivals, has played with orchestras such as The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, and is founder of the initiative that is “The New Dutch Academy”. He also gives guest lectures and workshops at various educational institutions including The Royal Conservatorium of The Hague and is lecturer in Music History and Culture Theory at Webster University in Leiden. Together with Alida Schat, John Wilson Meyer and Thomas Pitt, he is also a member of The Amsterdam String Quartet.

“This recording surpasses all existing recordings in depth and perspective…Fauré excellsthanks to the collective effort of choir, orchestra and soloists.”
--Huib Ramaer, de Volkskrant

“Those who play the multi channel version of the album on SA-CD equipment are enveloped by sound which makes you feel happy beyond belief.”
--Thiemo Wind, De Telegraaf

“The New Dutch Academy plays authentic instruments of the period, yet there is not a hint of the steely and harsh string sound such early music recordings frequently display on standard 44.1CDs. More than one acquaintance has stated that they can’t stand original instrument ensemble recordings; I’d like to play this exceptional SA-CD for them and see if they come around.”
--Jihn Sunier, Audiophile Audition

“An SA-CD which one can without hesitation recommend, not the least because of the attractive program in which the Corelli’s Christmas concerto sparkles in the most wonderful light.”
--RéF, Pizzicato

Simon Murphy and his boys play on the second volume of this spectacular new series this music “Mannheim Rockets” and all, with an authenticity and energy that’s got the competition beat. The authentic string sound they produce is perfection.”
Tower.com

“Murphy let his orchestra dance with candour but also with laudable discretion. A splendid orchestral experience”
---Serge Gregory, Classica-Répertoire

“ 10 for sound, 10 for booklet, 10 for repertoire choice and 10 for performance”: Joker
---Noël Godts, Crescendo

“ Classical record of the month: Interpretation 9, Sound 9, Repertoire 9”
---Attila Csampa, Stereoplay