Marie Ritter the new compilation format) would perhaps have been

useful.
Telemann: master of the 'German Telemann's preference for small groups of two or
more soloists in his concertos shows some similarity
style' with Vivaldi's imaginative output. Simon Standage and
'If one has the necessary discernment to choose the best Collegium Musicum 90's disc Telemann: Concerto in
from the styles of different countries a mixed style re- D for three horns, violin and orchestra & other works
sults that, without overstepping the bounds of mod- (Chandos CHAN 0547, rec 1993) pays homage to Tele-
esty, could well be called the German style ..." An inter- mann's own fertile imagination, both tonally and har-
est in current European trends was by no means monically. The concerto for three horns and violin is an
exclusive to Telemann, but his achievement is nowhere innovative work in which the violin and principal horn

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/em/article/XXII/4/696/551839 by guest on 04 March 2021

better summarized than in this general contemporary largely take solo status while the other horns have an
observation by J. J. Quantz. Telemann's works display accompanying role. On this recording the brass trio are
a complete absorption and fusion of many individual well controlled in accompanying passages and daringly
national characteristics which establish him as an im- bold in the tuttis; they also feature as a boisterous quar-
portant link in the development of Baroque music and tet in the large-scale Abter-Ouverture, scored for two
a precursor of the new galant style. oboes, four horns, violins and continuo with bassoon.
Although Telemann himself admitted that the Ital- This piece dates from a later period than La Bouffone,
ian concerto genre was not his favourite, he composed the other shorter French-style suite on the disc; it is
eight solo concertos for the oboe, of which the three a highly inventive work, which comically evokes vari-
chosen works in D, E and F minor on Albinoni and ous areas around the city of Hamburg, where Tele-
Telemann: Oboe concertos (EMI Classics CDC 7 54664, mann was director of music from 1721. Here Tele-
rec 1980/81) are worthy partners to the selection mann's mischievous streak is given a free rein, with
from Albinoni's op.9 collection also featured. Written adventurous dissonant and chromatic harmonies in
mainly in the early part of his career, the majority of movements such as the 'Concerto of frogs and crows'
Telemann's solo concertos follow a four-movement and 'Village music of the Alster shepherds'. No less
pattern more akin to the concerto grosso pattern of futuristic is the sparkling and light-hearted Grillen-
Corelli in Bologna than the Venetian three-movement Symphonie for piccolo and flute, alto chalumeau, vio-
plan favoured by Albinoni and Vivaldi. The oboist lins, viola, two concertante double basses and con-
Han de Vries, with Alma Musica Amsterdam and Bob tinuo, probably dating from the mid-to-late 1730s. This
Van Asperen, presents a selection of both types on flirtatious, rustic concerto is delightfully executed on
this disc, a compilation of two previous recordings the recording, punctuated by some perfectly crystalline
from the early 80s. Of the works by Telemann, the F piccolo and alto chalumeau playing (Rachel Brown and
minor is the only three-movement concerto in the Colin Lawson).
Venetian vein, with a central siciliano and lively 3/8 By 1735 Telemann's characteristic mixture of styles
finale. Interestingly, de Vries does not achieve quite the was renowned throughout Germany and France, re-
same evenness of sound or precision of technique in the sulting in a highly successful invitation visit to the
Telemann works as he does in the Albinoni, especially Parisian court in 1737. The chamber works from this
in faster passages, yet the slow movements contain period on the disc Telemann: Sonates corellisantes and
some imaginative and well placed ornamentation, canonic duos (Chandos CHAN 0549, rec 1993) reflect the
absent from some more recent recordings. The Albi- popular and cosmopolitan nature of his work, as the
noni works are treated to a thoughtful and delicate de- French title of the former suggests. Among the typical
livery by both orchestra and soloist, particularly in the Italian and French dance movements an occasional
plaintively beautiful Adagio from the D minor con- glimpse of the pre-Classical period emerges, as in the
certo. Conversely, the programme notes are more in- melodious Andante of the fourth sonata. Once again
formative on the Telemann than the AJbinoni, and a Collegium Musicum 90 produce stylish and poised per-
note connecting and comparing the two (in line with formances, thoughtfully arranged to alternate the trio

696 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1994

 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/em/article/XXII/4/696/551839 by guest on 04 March 2021
DITlOTvf
series from Virgin Classics
The new period performance

CELlililUTY
^'LtECLTALS
Lc-t^t-v * •' C * 6
SUNDAY 4 DECEMBER AT 4 . 0 0 P M
Melvyn Tan Fortepiano
Schumann Sonata. ()p 22
Mendelssohn 6 Lieclcr ohnc Work'. Op 67
Schubert Sonata in A. Op 120
Schubert 4 Impromptu*
We are delighted to welcome trie return
ol Inis highly acclaimed and very
popular musician.
Tick-Is
HgBarbican 0171 638 8891
SSB Centre in.-,,., - *„„, ,I.,,K I
698 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1994
sonata texture with that of the superbly crafted, unac-
companied canonic duos.
It is regrettable that only four of the set of six three-
movement duos appear on this disc to balance the six
trio sonatas. These 18 remarkable pieces, published
under the title Canons melodieux, proved extremely
popular on their publication in France under Tele-
mann's new royal privilege in 1738. Ingeniously com-
posed on a single stave to be played in strict canon, they
also require some skilled aural acrobatics to appreciate
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/em/article/XXII/4/696/551839 by guest on 04 March 2021
the full effect. In this highly enjoyable recording Simon
Standage and Michaela Comberti imbue the works
with welcome rhythmic stability and well matched
technical assurance, while Nicholas Parle (harpsichord)
and Jane Coe (cello) offer firm and sensitive support in
the trio sonatas.
Telemann's most successful chamber music is widely
considered to have appeared at the same time as the
canonic duos in Paris. In their double disc, Telemann:
Quatuors parisiens (Denon co-75354-55, rec 1992),
Masahiro Arita and the Tokyo Baroque Trio give a
complete account of all six Nouveaux quatuors (1738)
for flute, violin, bass viol and continuo—'new' as dis-
tinct from his earlier works published in Hamburg
(1730) and Paris (1737) for the same instrumental com-
bination. Each quartet consists of several varied move-
ments in which Telemann may be considered to have
found his true personal voice, one combining all the
elements of his previous eclecticism yet looking for-
wards to the new German style.
Several of the movements dispense with the con-
tinuo altogether (the performers choose to use harpsi-
chord continuo alone while acknowledging the docu-
mented evidence of a cellist, Eduoard, in the first
performances), giving a glimpse into the Classical
sound-world along with pizzicato sections and pastoral
pedal-notes. Movements of concerto proportions for
viol and flute appear in the B minor and A minor quar-
tets respectively, stylishly delivered by Kaori Uemura
and Masahiro Arita. The set culminates in the magnifi-
cent E minor quartet, the finale of which is a landmark
of invention, combining old and new in a beautifully
moulded chaconne. Although a little more tonal and
dynamic imagination might have been expected from
these performers, on the whole they present a worthy
and well documented account of some of the most out-
standing pre-classical works in the flautist's repertory.