Telemann was a prolific
composer for almost any kind of instrument
in any kind of scoring. The set of six
trios recorded here belongs to a group
of four collections which were published
during Telemann's years in Frankfurt
(1712-1721), where he was active both
as city music director as well as Kapellmeister
of the Barfüsserkirche. Soon after
he arrived in Frankfurt he founded a
Collegium Musicum, just as he had done
in Leipzig before. The members of the
ensemble came from the middle class
as well as patrician circles, some of
whom had considerable technical skills.
To the group of collections
written during the Frankfurt years belong
the six partitas which form the 'Cleine
Cammer-Musik' of 1716. This set and
the 'Six Trios' of 1718 are different
in two respects. The Trios are technically
more demanding than the Partitas, and
whereas the scoring of the Partitas
is left to the performers, in the Six
Trios Telemann specifies the instruments
for which they are written. Only in
the sixth trio Telemann offers an alternative
for the third melody instrument: either
cello or bassoon. This means that Telemann
was more able to exploit the specific
character of the respective instruments.
It is quite possible this collection
also reflects the educational ideal
of the enlightenment as Telemann expressed
in the preface of 'Der getreue Music-Meister'
(1728-29), where he wrote that the function
of music is "to serve one’s neighbour".
The Six Trios are structured
symmetrically: the first and last are
in three movements, the four in between
are of the sonata da chiesa type and
consist of a sequence of four movements:
slow - fast - slow - fast. Apart from
that the second and fifth are in minor
keys, the other in major.
In many of the movements
the instruments swap roles: first one
of the instruments takes the lead, while
the other is taking a back seat, and
then vice versa. In most sonatas there
is a pretty strong contrast between
the individual movements. A good example
is the Trio III, which starts with a
very moving 'affettuoso', which is followed
by a lively vivace, an expressive adagio
and another sparkling vivace. Interesting
is also the Trio II, which ends with
a pair of minuets the second of which
is for recorder and violin only, with
the basso continuo being silent.
The members of Camerata
Köln are very experienced performers
of this kind of repertoire, and therefore
it doesn't surprise that the interpretations
on this disc are very good. The affect
and the many rhetorical figures of these
trios are done full justice by the strongly
gestural playing of Camerata Köln.
The phrasing and articulation are natural
and follow the musical logic. The tempi
are well chosen, and there is a very
good balance between the instruments,
even where the violin could easily dominate
its partner, in particular the viola
da gamba and the cello in the fifth
and sixth trio respectively. I only
wish the players would have been a little
more generous in the use of ornamentation.
This recording has
been released in the year of Camerata
Köln's 25th anniversary. Congratulations
and many happy returns!
Johan van Veen
Camerata Köln
