With the ninth concerto in his Op. 6 set, Corelli switches from the church-sonata format to the chamber-sonata layout and maintains this scheme to the end of the series. Instead of using abstract movements in a slow-fast-slow-fast pattern, Corelli now casts his concertos as dance suites, each with a slow introduction.

Such is the case in this work, which opens with a slow Preludio with double-dotted rhythms in the French style but an overall manner reminiscent of Italian opera recitative. The first dance is an Allemanda, the German dance that traditionally opens such a suite; here, it's a fast dance in duple meter (Corelli preferred slower, more keyboard-appropriate Allemanda tempos elsewhere). Following the usual pattern, Corelli next provides a Corrente in triple meter, livelier than the French form of the dance but a bit more subdued than the preceding movement.

Next comes a fairly fast Gavotta in duple meter, a miniature piece that barely has time for the concertino group to hand it to the full ensemble after getting things started. The ensuing Adagio is merely a transitional passage of slow chords, lacking any dance nature. Last comes a Minuetto, light and graceful but fast in the Italian style, rather than keeping the more measured pace preferred by German composers such as Bach.

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