The form developed in the late seventeenth century, although the name was not used at first.
Alessandro Stradella seems to have written the first music in which two groups of different sizes are combined in the characteristic way. The name was first used by
Giovanni Lorenzo Gregori in a set of ten compositions published in Lucca in 1698. The first major composer to use the term
concerto grosso was
Arcangelo Corelli. After Corelli's death, a collection of twelve of his
concerti grossi was published. Not long after, composers such as
Francesco Geminiani,
Pietro Locatelli,
Giovanni Benedetto Platti and
Giuseppe Torelli wrote concertos in the style of Corelli. He also had a strong influence on
Antonio Vivaldi. Two distinct forms of the
concerto grosso exist: • the
concerto da chiesa (church concert) • the
concerto da camera (chamber concert) The
concerto da chiesa alternated slow and fast movements; the
concerto da camera had the character of a
suite, being introduced by a
prelude and incorporating popular dance forms. (See also
Sonata for a discussion about sonatas
da camera and
da chiesa.) These distinctions blurred over time. Corelli composed 48
trio sonatas, 12 violin and continuo sonatas, and 12 concerti grossi. Six sets of twelve compositions,
published between 1888 and 1891 by
Friedrich Chrysander, are authentically ascribed to Corelli, together with a few other works. • Opus 1: 12
sonate da chiesa (trio sonatas for 2 violins and
continuo) (Rome 1681) • Opus 2: 12
sonate da camera (trio sonatas for 2 violins and continuo) (Rome 1685) • Opus 3: 12
sonate da chiesa (trio sonatas for 2 violins and continuo) (Rome 1689) • Opus 4: 12
sonate da camera (trio sonatas for 2 violins and continuo) (Rome 1694) • Opus 5: 12
Suonati a violino e violone o cimbalo (6
sonate da chiesa and 6
sonate da camera for violin and continuo) (Rome 1700) The last sonata is a set of
variations on
La Folia. •
Opus 6: 12 concerti grossi (8 concerti da chiesa and 4 concerti da camera for
concertino of 2 violins and
cello, string
ripieno, and continuo) (
Amsterdam 1714) Corelli's
concertino group consisted of two violins and a cello, with a
string section as
ripieno group. Both were accompanied by a
basso continuo with some combination of harpsichord, organ, lute or
theorbo. ==Concertino==