Telemann Suites; Concerto in D
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Georg Philipp Telemann
Label: Archiv Produktion
Magazine Review Date: 8/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 59
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 439 893-2AH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Concerto for 3 Trumpets, 2 Oboes, Timpani and Stri |
Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer
(The) English Concert Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer Lorraine Wood, Oboe Mark Bennett, Trumpet Michael Harrison, Trumpet Nicholas Thompson, Trumpet Paul Goodwin, Oboe Trevor Pinnock, Harpsichord |
| Overture Suite |
Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer
(The) English Concert Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer Trevor Pinnock, Harpsichord |
| Musique de table, 'Tafelmusik', Movement: ~ |
Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer
(The) English Concert Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer Trevor Pinnock, Harpsichord |
Author: Jonathan Freeman-Attwood
This latest Telemann disc from The English Concert follows their release last year of three suites drawn from the extraordinary collection of around 100 suites housed in Darmstadt (Archiv, 6/93). Trevor Pinnock might legitimately have felt a little bruised when those vital performances did not fare better in last year's Gramophone Awards: irresistible rhythmic energy combined with beautifully judged articulations and warm timbral colouring amounted to an expose of baroque orchestration at its most opulent. One of the prime attractions of the first release was to hear fine and relatively unknown examples of the German instrumental suite expanding upon Georg Muffat's sophisticated Florilegia (still mysteriously under-recorded) by consolidating on the especially satisfying collusion of French melodic grace with German contrapuntal rigour (which Muffat himself exploited so originally). In Telemann's suites the counterpoint is rarely as keenly 'patterned' in detail as in Bach's famous four, though his evocation of prevailing folk idioms and the facility and clarity with which he manipulates a la mode Italian concerto techniques is a blueprint of galant panache.
The satisfaction at seeing another release of suites hard on the heels of the first is tempered only by the inclusion of the ubiquitous example from Production II of Telemann's justly acclaimed publication, Musique de table. This extensive D major work is well represented in the catalogue, most notably in two complete sets from Harnoncourt and Goebel which came out almost on the same day in 1989. In the circumstances, this piece for solo oboe and trumpet with strings is a less desirable proposition than the richly endowed and little-known gems which we have been introduced to by Pinnock so far. This disc contains only one such work but it is a flawless G minor Suite displaying Telemann's brilliant and variegated ideas of blending and offsetting three concertante oboes with strings. After the exquisitely balanced overture (the type of work where the reprise of the saccade introduction leaves you glowing in the composer's expert timing) the picturesque dances are executed with refined characterization, most notably in the robustly Ramellian, ''Les Irresoluts''.
If the inclusion of the Production II suite is perhaps a missed opportunity for more objets inconnus, it is certainly not a waste of air time since it rivals, if not improves upon Goebel's account with the trumpeter, Friedemann Immer—and is much more satisfying than his distinctly disappointing playing in the Harnoncourt version. Pinnock's approach is about right in its bold gestures, with the forward placing of the trumpet and oboe making for a persuasive dialogue, even if Mark Bennett's gleaming tone tends to predominate. Bennett's virtuoso 'natural' trumpet playing is demanded again in a performance of one or two extant concertos Telemann wrote for three trumpets. He and his colleagues are meticulously matched here in a thrilling performance which simply has to be heard by those who relish baroque music at its grandest and most self-conscious. Overall then, another fine achievement.'
The satisfaction at seeing another release of suites hard on the heels of the first is tempered only by the inclusion of the ubiquitous example from Production II of Telemann's justly acclaimed publication, Musique de table. This extensive D major work is well represented in the catalogue, most notably in two complete sets from Harnoncourt and Goebel which came out almost on the same day in 1989. In the circumstances, this piece for solo oboe and trumpet with strings is a less desirable proposition than the richly endowed and little-known gems which we have been introduced to by Pinnock so far. This disc contains only one such work but it is a flawless G minor Suite displaying Telemann's brilliant and variegated ideas of blending and offsetting three concertante oboes with strings. After the exquisitely balanced overture (the type of work where the reprise of the saccade introduction leaves you glowing in the composer's expert timing) the picturesque dances are executed with refined characterization, most notably in the robustly Ramellian, ''Les Irresoluts''.
If the inclusion of the Production II suite is perhaps a missed opportunity for more objets inconnus, it is certainly not a waste of air time since it rivals, if not improves upon Goebel's account with the trumpeter, Friedemann Immer—and is much more satisfying than his distinctly disappointing playing in the Harnoncourt version. Pinnock's approach is about right in its bold gestures, with the forward placing of the trumpet and oboe making for a persuasive dialogue, even if Mark Bennett's gleaming tone tends to predominate. Bennett's virtuoso 'natural' trumpet playing is demanded again in a performance of one or two extant concertos Telemann wrote for three trumpets. He and his colleagues are meticulously matched here in a thrilling performance which simply has to be heard by those who relish baroque music at its grandest and most self-conscious. Overall then, another fine achievement.'
Telemann Suites; Concerto in D
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