Comparison: Camerata Köln
(deutsche harmonia mundi)
Georg Philipp Telemann
was Germany's most prolific composer
of the first half of the 18th century.
For the main part of his life he was
active in Hamburg, a centre of trade
and culture, and during the second quarter
of the century developing into a centre
of German enlightenment. Telemann was
as dynamic as the city he served. During
his career as a composer he showed a
versatile mind in many compositional
forms. The popular image of Telemann
as a composer of easy-listening music
is far from the truth. He was certainly
able to write polyphonic pieces, but
he deliberately aimed at reaching as
wide an audience as possible. On the
one hand this is a feature of the time,
in which music was written to the glory
of God but also to serve one's neighbour.
In this respect there was no difference
between Telemann and his friend Bach.
On the other hand this objective also
shows the increasing importance of the
bourgeoisie as purchasers of music which
they performed at home or in social
gatherings. And Telemann's music shows
the development of popular taste, as
he started to write in the traditional
style of the baroque, but also made
use of the galant style and leaned towards
early classicism at the end of his life.
Telemann once stated that "it is always
pleasant to do something new". Apparently
it was this which kept him going and
made him Germany's most creative composer
until the very end of his long life.
Amongst the features
of Telemann's oeuvre are the large variety
of instruments and combinations of instruments
for which he composed. This can be explained
by the fact that he had a thorough knowledge
of many instruments. "The splendid instrumentalists
I met here and there gave me the desire
to become more proficient on my own;
in which I would have gone further,
had I not been fired to acquaint myself
not only with the keyboard, violin and
recorder, but also with the oboe, the
transverse flute, the chalumeau, the
viola da gamba etc down to the double
bass and the quint-trombone". The collection
'Essercizii Musici' appeared in 1739/40
and contains sonatas for a solo instrument
as well as trios for two obbligato instruments,
both with basso continuo. In particular
the trios, four of which have been recorded
by La Primavera, show a great variety
of instrumental combinations. Most remarkable
are the trios in which the harpsichord
acts as an obbligato instrument, without
replacing the basso continuo. In this
recording the bass part in these trios
is played by the theorbo - with an additional
string bass. Also unusual is the combination
of a descant and a bass instrument,
like recorder and viola da gamba.
The common prejudice
that Telemann wasn't interested in polyphony
is clearly refuted by the compositions
in this collection. Several movements
are dominated by polyphony, as in the
Trios in f minor and a minor. Another
example is the allegro from the Triosonata
in G, which is also notable for its
harmony. In the booklet the theorist
Johann Adolf Scheibe is quoted as writing:
"I found intervals that were often unusual
in the compositions of this great man
(…). They were employed by Telemann
with the greatest possible grace and
in such an expressive and touching manner
that was so entirely suited to the emotions
he wished to convey that one could not
blame him without blaming Nature itself".
This quote reveals both the aesthetics
of the time and Telemann's compositional
objectives. He was devoted to the 'affetti'
which were a prominent feature of the
baroque era, and which were not seen
as something artificial, but as something
completely natural. Therefore the ideal
of a 'natural' style of composing which
gained ground during the second quarter
of the 18th century did not mean that
'affetti' fell out of fashion. This
quote also proves that Telemann didn’t
merely compose to please the ear, but
also to move the players and the audience.
The ensemble La Primavera
has made a good choice from the 'Essercizii
musici' and added two other pieces.
This results in a nice variety of instrumental
combinations and musical forms. It is
a shame that the performances are little
more than mediocre. The notes are treated
with little differentiation: the diversity
of 'good' and 'bad' notes is largely
ignored, and there is a lack of dynamic
shading. It is in this respect where
Camerata Köln's interpretation
stands out. A stronger sense of rhythm
and the use of dynamic accents make
the slow movements sway softly and the
faster movements swing. The tempi in
Camerata Köln's recording are also
more convincing: the fast movements
in La Primavera's performance are often
too slow. The players are not very generous
in regard to ornamentation: whole phrases
are played without a single ornament.
Lastly I don’t like the sound of the
violin, which I find often harsh and
lacking in subtlety. The pieces with
viola da gamba as an obbligato instrument
fare best, thanks to the playing of
Maaike Boekholt.
In short, this fine
music isn't really done justice here.
The recording by Camerata Köln
is superior in every respect. As far
as I know it is only available as set
of four discs, but I can assure you
the quality of music and performance
is such that you won’t regret buying
it.
Johan van Veen
for details
La Primavera: (Clémence Comte (recorder);
Peter Frankenberg (oboe); Igor Roukhadze
(violin); Maaike Boekholt (viola da gamba);
Sarah Walder (viola da gamba; cello);
Regina Albanez (theorbo); Menno van Delft
(harpsichord)) 
