At under 50 minutes
this is a rather ungenerous re-issue from 1990 of two of Telemann’s
secular cantatas together with the Psalm setting, Ach Herr,
strafe mich nicht. There is much in the blend
of words and music to intrigue and delight. These were written
as the cantata form was emerging from its origins in imitation
of Italian opera. The emotions are strong. Passions (of love)
run high, though controlled. Most of the burden of conveying these
feelings with such drive falls on Annette Markert; so it’s as
well that she’s completely up to the task.
Markert’s rich and
unfettered voice also has a central place in half a dozen discs
from Ton Koopman’s excellent complete Bach cantata cycle on
Challenge. Her repertoire extends to Frank Martin and Max Bruch.
Here she is, making the most of her own earnestness with what
could easily have become too mannered a style. Yet she moves
deftly within the latitude offered at a time when seventeenth
century lyricism was giving way to the formalities of the eighteenth
century cantata as conceived by Neumeister. The result is that
she communicates very personally with listeners – surely as
Telemann wanted.
This is a close
- almost claustrophobic - recording and somewhat dry. That fact
adds to the intimacy with which Markert and the six-person Parnaso
Musicale convey music which one might expect to be more intense
than as actually written by Telemann. Not that the treatments
are conceived or performed in any way with tongue-in-cheek.
Genuine feelings of sorrow and sadness are tempered by determination
… Thyrsis does make the right choice; love is
worth it for the sighing lover; the torments presented to the
penitent in the Psalm 6 are very real.
The players of Il
Parnaso Musicale play well with a nice balance between supporting
Markert as she paints the pain; and driving the musical argument
forward. The texture is rich in strings … Zwicker’s Baroque
cello (of 1615), Scholz’s Baroque violin (‘18th Century’)
and Luisi’s Baroque violin (1791) are period instruments; the
others’ play modern copies. It’s a convincing sound; the balance
with the voice is also just right – both for the flavour and
the tenor of the texts. As a result of this balance, which emphasises
the music itself at the expense of effect, repeated listening
will enhance not jade.
In Tirsis am
Scheidewege (‘Thyrsis’ choice’) Telemann almost plays with
the words to emphasise the pastoral infatuation and charm. He
makes striking use of wind instruments; in this case the recorder
in just one aria. That exemplifies the composer’s interest in
painting a sound picture and adds to the music’s appeal.
Seufzen, Kummer,
Angst und Tränen (‘Sighs, Sorrow, Worry and Tears’) is about
the anguish of love as well. This time the emotion is also conveyed
through what can only be described as ‘fraught’ harmonies, as
well as a cyclical melody. A remarkable evocation of lovers’
anguish.
Ach Herr, strafe
mich nicht is a setting of the Psalm usually
translated in English as ‘Lord, chasten me not’. It has in common
with the other two pieces on this disc the sense of pain which
is as obvious from the musical writing as from the text. Yet,
significantly, Telemann is as concerned with musical beauty
- in the way contemporary Italian sonatas had evolved - as he
is with the depth of feeling where abject pleading leads to
a kind of triumph as foes are thwarted.
The booklet is adequate,
though the translations are a little wooden in places; it contains
the texts in German and English. To explore the cantatas of the
prolific Telemann is always a delight. To have them played as
expertly and with as much verve as these players do is a double
delight.
Mark Sealey
Annette Markert
(alto) 
