Francesco Geminiani

Concerto Grosso in B-flat, Op. 3, No. 5

While Italian Baroque composer and violinist Francesco Xaverio Geminiani (1687-1762) has now largely been forgotten, during his lifetime he was considered on the same tier as Handel or Corelli, whose contrapuntal style he emulated. Compositionally, he is best known for three sets of 42 concerti grossi (a term made famous by Corelli): Opus 2 (1732), Opus 3 (1733) and Opus 7 (1746). These were written for an English audience excited by the 'Corellian' style, despite the rest of Europe then adopting the fashionable galant style. These concerti grossi proved very popular on performance and were published quickly in London. The collection of Six Concertos (Concerti Grossi), Op. 3 were written first in 1732-1733, but were revised by Geminiani in 1755. This edition of Concerto Grosso in B-flat, Op. 3, No. 5 has been edited by Robert Hernreid, and it features combined ripieno and concertante string parts (4-4-3-3-3 in the set) into each instrument part and a realized cembalo/harpsichord continuo by Alexander Vogel. Reprint edition.