Corelli's life work rests on the six sets of instrumental compositions that bear the opus numbers 1 to 6. They comprise altogether seventy-two individual works of which thirty-eight are patterned after the church sonata design: 24 sonatas (op. 1 and 3), six solo sonatas for violin (op. 5) and eight of the 12 concerti grossi (op. 6).
The Church Sonata design is important in understanding the development of the sonata itself as well as multi movement works such as the quartet, symphony, concerto, etc. The sonata grew from very small proportions into the most important musical form in the last 400 years. Originally, sonata and cantata did not indicate a formal pattern or design, but expressed simply the manner of tone production. Literally, sonata means a piece to be played; cantata a piece to be sung. Instrumental pieces that formed a part of a vocal composition (cantata) were called sonata.
