Telemann's knowledge of woodwind instruments was considerable. He played most if not all of them himself and he understood their capabilities better, perhaps, than almost all his contemporaries. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his compositions for flute and recorder, instruments for which he catered generously and rewardingly at various stages in his life. The 12 Fantaisies for transverse flute ''senza basso'' were printed in about 1733, at the outset of a notably productive period in which some writers have discerned a maturing of Telemann's style. That opinion is, to some extent upheld by these works which are by no means mere virtuoso frolics for practitioners of the newly fashionable flute, but pieces of substance, well-sustained, concentrated, inventive and graceful. Indeed, lovers of Telemann's affable eclecticism may be as struck by the serious strain running through the Fantaisies as by the depth of expression.
Masahiro Arita's recording is not the first to have included all 12 pieces, nor is it the first to have been made on an instrument belonging to the period in which Telemann wrote them—that claim belongs to Barthold Kuijken on Accent/Gamut. In matters of style, though, these two performances share common ground. Arita is marginally the more forceful player with a somewhat freer hand in his ornamentation but, like Kuijken, he gives plenty of rein to his imagination in toccata-like movements which call for subtle rhythmic freedom. Dance rhythms, and there are plenty of them, are also conveyed with clarity and a good sense of poise though it is Kuijken, perhaps, who more successfully penetrates the surface of the music, feeling beyond what is written on the printed page. In the end, however, there is little to choose between the two. Arita's Stanesby flute (c. 1725) is a beautiful-sounding instrument with a full, warm, rounded tone. Kuijken's Rottenburgh (c. 1740) is a shade darker in hue and admirably suited to reflective moments of the kind which occur with frequency in these affectingly varied pieces.
To sum up, a fine issue though my own temperament inclines more naturally towards Kuijken. Excellent recorded sound; warmly commended.'