Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840)

Nationality: Italian

Born: October 27, 1782, Genoa Died: May 27, 1840, Nice (age 57)

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19th Century

Caprice in C major, Op. 1, No. 18

(for solo violin)

Corrente – Allegro

Duration: 3 minutes (approximately)

Composed: c. 1805 (age 22-23)

Published: 1820 (age 37-38)

19th Century

2 recordings, 2 videos

2:15

Michael Rabin

2:24

Nikolai Madoyev

glossary

allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
capriccio, caprice, capriccioso, capricieux, capricieuse—a short character piece, typically in a humorous, fanciful, or playful manner. The concept juxtaposes the improvisatory free-form fantasy against the more formal, "serious" and logically "worked-out" sonata forms.Within a caprice, the range of expression may well include the serious and dark as well as demanding extraordinary technical skills such as a prelude or etude.
chamber music, Kammermusik [G], musique de chambre [F], musica da camera [I], musica cameralis [L]—"Classical Music" for a small ensemble, generally 8 or fewer players with a canonical emphasis on 3-6 players. explore
courante, corrente, corriente, courant, corant—a triple-meter Renaissance / Baroque dance with regional nuances (e.g. Italian, French). between 3/2 and 6/4 time to create a flowing, swaying feel. The courante developed into two distinct national styles. The Italian corrente is fast, light, and energetic, featuring rapid running passages, a brisk tempo, simple triple meter (such as 3/4 or 3/8), and a predominantly homophonic texture that highlights instrumental virtuosity. In contrast, the French courante is slower, more stately, and elegant, reflecting its origins as a court dance characterized by graceful gliding and springing steps. Musically, it is distinguished by contrapuntal writing and sophisticated rhythmic ambiguity, often shifting accents between 3/2 and 6/4 meter to create a fluid, swaying motion.
opus [L], opera[pl], Op., Opp, WoO, Op. posth—work, as in a work of art. For unique identification, publishers/composers often assign an "opus number", abbreviated as "Op." (e.g. Op. 1). A range of works by opus number, uses the plural "opp." (e.g. "Opp. 1-3"). A single opus number may refer to a collection of works (e.g. a set of quartets) giving rise to designations like "Op. 1, No. 4". For misc. works without opus numbers, "WoO" is often used (e.g."Without Opus"). Posthumously assigned numbers may use "Op. posth". Opus numbers may not precisely reflect chronology (publication vs. composition), can be erroneous, sparse or duplicative. Thus, the works of some historically important composers may use separate catalog numbers (e.g. Bach, Haydn, Schubert). See wiki
solo—a piece or section of a piece featuring a single instrumental part. Often, this implies one instrument alone but may indicate a soloist with accompaniment (e.g. continuo) especially in a section within a larger work for ensemble