Arcangelo Corelli’s Twelve Concerti Grossi, Op.6 (1714) was one of the most commercial and widely distributed publications throughout Europe in the eighteenth century, its prestige cementing the work as the textbook for 'concerti grossi', music for a concertino group of soloists (here 2 violins and a cello) standing out among a ripieno group of strings with harpsichord.
Among the most famous of these twelve concertos was the eighth, which bears the inscription Fatto per la notte di Natale ("made for the night of Christmas") and contains a 'pastorale' movement to conclude the work. This 'pastorale', which recalls the Christmas music of the traditional Italian bagpipe and reed pipe, proved hugely popular and invited several imitations, including a concerto by Pietro Locatelli in his Twelve Concerti Grossi, Op.1 (1721). And in which concerto does this pastorale feature? The eighth, just like his countryman maestro did before him!
