Muffat, pupil of Lully and Corelli, composed his concerto „Victoria Maesta“ („Sad Victory“) in 1689 as organist and chamber musician in the court of the archbishop of Salzburg. The title refers to the taking of Belgrad during which the archbishop’s brother was killed in 1688; therefore the piece begins with a solemn funeral march in C minor, in elaborate and artistic contrapuntal technique in the sense of Corelli’s adagio type.

Schott Music