Telemann Vocal Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Georg Philipp Telemann
Label: Chaconne
Magazine Review Date: 8/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 61
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CHAN0548
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Die) Donner-Ode, 'Thunder Ode' |
Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer
Catherine Denley, Mezzo soprano Collegium Musicum 90 Collegium Musicum 90 Chorus Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer Mark Tucker, Tenor Michael George, Bass Patrizia Kwella, Soprano Richard Hickox, Conductor Stephen Roberts, Baritone |
| Deus judicium tuum |
Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer
Catherine Denley, Mezzo soprano Collegium Musicum 90 Collegium Musicum 90 Chorus Georg Philipp Telemann, Composer Mark Tucker, Tenor Patrizia Kwella, Soprano Richard Hickox, Conductor Stephen Roberts, Baritone |
Author: Lindsay Kemp
If, as I think it was H. G. Wells had it, God is some kind of benevolent old gentleman with an infinite capacity for absorbing praise, then he'll have been pleased with Telemann's Donner-Ode. Composed as a commemoration piece for the Lisbon earthquake in 1756, it uses a Psalm-based text to extol the virtues of a deity who ''rocks the seas'', ''shatters the cedars'' and ''makes the proud mountains collapse''. Telemann originally wrote only the first part of the work as it is recorded here, adding Part Two four years later for the sole purpose, it seems, of making it twice as long. The fact that he was able to do this simply by adding more of the same and repeating the opening chorus at the end reveals its main shortcoming. Producer Nicholas Anderson likens it to the Bach Magnificat in his insert-notes, and it does have much the same trumpet-and-drum celebratory tone and mix of shortish solo items and choruses; but in the end it just doesn't hang together like the Bach. Then again, it shows a bright attractiveness and vigour typical of its composer, and there's also the odd striking idea—most memorably the introduction of suitably awesome timpani parts in two of the numbers—that easily explains the interest it caused in its day.
The performance here is a lithe one. The recording is pleasantly spacious and it's nice not to have the timpani episodes rammed down your ears. The various solos (though well sung) are a little lacking in immediacy, however, and thereby lose impact. I also suspect that a more judicious overall pacing, in particular shorter gaps between movements, would have served the work better.
The other piece on the disc is more cohesive, both in concept and performance. Telemann composed Deus judicium tuum during his time in Paris during the 1730s, and paid a generous complement to his hosts by writing it in the form—and unmistakably with many of the refined manners—of a Frenchgrand motet. It's a charming piece from this most charming of composers.'
The performance here is a lithe one. The recording is pleasantly spacious and it's nice not to have the timpani episodes rammed down your ears. The various solos (though well sung) are a little lacking in immediacy, however, and thereby lose impact. I also suspect that a more judicious overall pacing, in particular shorter gaps between movements, would have served the work better.
The other piece on the disc is more cohesive, both in concept and performance. Telemann composed Deus judicium tuum during his time in Paris during the 1730s, and paid a generous complement to his hosts by writing it in the form—and unmistakably with many of the refined manners—of a French
Telemann Vocal Works
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