Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli (, also , ; ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) Early life and education Childhood Baptismal records indicate that Corelli was born on 17 February 1653 in the small Romagna town of Fusignano, then in the diocese of Ferrara, in the Papal States. His ancestors had been in Fusignano and land-owners there since 1506, when a Corelli moved to the area from Rome. Although apparently prosperous, they were almost certainly not of the nobility, as several fanciful accounts of the composer’s genealogy subsequently claimed. Corelli’s father, from whom he took the name Arcangelo, died five weeks before the composer’s birth. Consequently, he was raised by his mother, Santa (née Ruffini, or Raffini), alongside four elder siblings, including Ippolito Corelli (1643–1727), Domenico Corelli (1647–1719) and Giacinto Corelli (1649–1719). The wealth of anecdotes and legends attached to Corelli contrast sharply with the paucity of reliable contemporary evidence documenting events in his life. This gap is especially pronounced for his formative years, including his musical education; traditional accounts of a highly idealized childhood have long been debunked. Musical education Corelli