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Corellisante Arcangelo CORELLI (1653
- 1713)
Sonata in G, op. 4,10 [5:14] Georg Philipp TELEMANN (1682-1767)
Sonate Corellisante V in g minor (TWV 42,g4) [8:23] Arcangelo CORELLI
Sonata in C, op. 3,8 [7:23] Georg Philipp TELEMANN
Sonate Corellisante II in A (TWV 42,A5) [8:41] Arcangelo CORELLI
Sonata in A, op. 3,12 [8:32] Georg Philipp TELEMANN
Sonate Corellisante III in b (TWV 42,h3) [8:34] Arcangelo CORELLI
Sonata in E, op. 4,6 [6:47]
Sonata in G, op. 1,9 [6:49] Georg Philipp TELEMANN
Sonate Corellisante I in F (TWV 42,F2) [7:28]
Rebel
(Jörg-Michael Schwarz, Karen Marie Marmer (violin),
John Moran (cello), Daniel Swenberg (lute, theorbo, calchedon),
Dongsok Shin (harpsichord, organ))
rec. 21-24 May 2003, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy,
N.Y., USA. DDD DORIAN
DSL-90703 [68:08]
Georg
Philipp Telemann was by far the most famous and celebrated
composer of his time in Germany. When he was rediscovered
in the 20th century, his reputation was somewhat damaged
by being compared to Johann Sebastian Bach. His music was
considered light-weight and a bit superficial and easy in
comparison to the oeuvre of the great Bach. It is mainly
his chamber music which was frequently played, most of which
Telemann specifically composed for the bourgeoisie. During
the first half of the 18th century the bourgeoisie started
to play an increasingly important role in public life. And
as many of them were playing an instrument there was a growing
demand of music which was technically not too complicated.
And that is exactly what Telemann was willing to deliver.
But
there is much more to Telemann than this kind of music. Gradually
his sacred music has been rediscovered, his orchestral suites
nowadays belong to the standard repertoire of baroque orchestras
and there is also a growing interest in his operas. Even
in his chamber music there is still something to discover,
as this disc testifies.
The
Sonates Corellisantes were published in 1735 in Hamburg.
As usual Telemann took the job of printing and selling into
his own hand. He had agents in several German cities who
took care of the distribution and checked whether pirate
editions were printed. In 1737 an edition was printed in
Paris, though, by the publisher Le Clerc. Whether this was
an unauthorised edition is not quite clear.
There
is also some uncertainty in regard to the scoring. Although
written for two violins with basso continuo, Telemann offered
the alternative of two transverse flutes for the two upper
parts. But in the programme notes John Moran states: "If,
however, Telemann's aim was really to imitate Corelli, the
option of performance with flutes would have been given more
for commercial than artistic reasons." But did Telemann
really want to imitate Corelli? That is very unlikely, as
Moran recognizes later on: "For every passage reminiscent
of Corelli, Telemann writes many more which are not".
And indeed, listening to these sonatas one realises that
Corelli's music was merely the starting point, from which
Telemann developed his own style. It was mainly the form
of Corelli's sonatas Telemann made use of: the sonata da
camera (Sonata II) and the sonata da chiesa (Sonata V). This,
by the way, was certainly not the first time he did so. In
chamber music Telemann had written earlier - between roughly
1715 and 1725 - he had already adopted these forms. Another
reason to take the suggestion of an alternative scoring seriously
is that Telemann avoids going below the bottom D of the transverse
flute.
In
this recording the sonatas are performed with violins. This,
and the alternation with sonatas by Corelli, underlines both
the similarities and the differences. One thing which striked
me while listening to these sonatas is that, although Telemann
was aiming at mixing the style of Corelli with elements of
the more fashionable styles of his days, the presence of
'old-fashioned' elements is quite strong. I refer here especially
to the use of counterpoint - much more prominent than in
his other works of this time - and the use of sometimes remarkable
harmonies.
It
may be true that Telemann's harmonies are more varied than
Corelli's, as John Moran writes. But Corelli certainly didn't
avoid strong dissonances now and then. In their performances
Rebel give much attention to the harmonic tension in Corelli's
sonatas, and as a result their interpretations are more expressive
than many others. An eyewitness of Corelli's playing wrote: "I
never met with any man that suffered his passions to hurry
him away so much whilst he was playing on the violin as the
famous Arcangelo Corelli, whose eyes will sometimes turn
as red as fire; his countenance will be distorted, his eyeballs
roll as in agony, and he gives in so much to what he is doing
that he doth not look like the same man." This is well
reflected in the fiery playing of this ensemble. The interpretations
of Telemann's sonatas are just as passionate and bold, sometimes
on the verge of being brutal. Now and then I felt they just
go a bit too far, for instance in the sarabande of Telemann's
Sonata II, which is too abrasive and lacks the expression
the indication of 'grave' suggests. But overall I am quite
happy with these performances which go against the prejudice
that the music of both composers should first and foremost
just please the ear.
This
disc is a tribute to the art of Telemann, as it shows there
is more to him than one may think. It is also his - and Rebel's
- tribute to Corelli who appealed to later generations and
had a lasting influence on the course of music history.
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