George Philipp TELEMANN (1681–1767)
Complete Violin Concertos - Volume 7
Overture-Suite in A major, TWV55:A8 [22:05]
Concerto in G major, TWV51:G4 [12:03]
Overture-Suite in A major, TWV55:A4 [22:46]
The Wallfisch Band/Elizabeth Wallfisch (violin)
rec. September 30-October 3, 2013, Kirche La Baleine, France
CPO 777881-2 [57:04]
Despite a plethora of recordings, notably from CPO, Telemann has never made it to the top step of the Baroque ladder to join Bach, Handel and Vivaldi in terms of popularity. It certainly hasn’t been for the lack of works, as he is famously one of the most prolific composers of all time. I think this release may offer an answer as to why this may be. There is much here that is engaging - though rather less in the second Overture-Suite - but at the same time, there was also not a melody that stayed with me after the CD finished. Nowhere in his recorded output is there something to put alongside anything from The Four Seasons, the Hallelujah Chorus, Zadok The Priest, the Air from the third Orchestral Suite, Sheep May
Safely Graze and a number of other works which have entered the public consciousness.
Does that make Telemann a less gifted composer? No, it just means that his talents lay elsewhere. There is no doubt that his music is distinctive – it is very likely that a listener well versed in Baroque music would be able to pick his music in a blind test. I don’t have the musicological background to attempt to explain how this distinctiveness comes about, but I think many of you reading this will understand what I mean.
This seventh release in the “Complete” series of violin concertos from CPO has been released eight years after it was recorded (see also reviews of Volume 1 ~ Volume 2 ~ Volume 3 ~ Volume 5). This might seem rather strange, but is fairly common with this label. I put the word complete in inverted commas, because Telemann’s prolificity makes it rather difficult to be sure that one has indeed captured all his output. The booklet notes don’t indicate how many concertos he wrote, but more than twenty have been recorded in this series thus far. It may be that the end is in sight, as neither of the two Overture-Suites (with major solo violin parts) included, is definitely by Telemann. It also seems a little niggardly to give us under an hour of music, but that is par for the course for releases in the series, which have all been around this duration.
What are some of the high points? The bagpipe sounds in the first Passepied in the first Overture make one smile, the Allegro finale in the Concerto is “peak-Telemann”, and the second Overture finishes with a beautifully elegant Giga. There are of course more than just these.
The playing by Elizabeth Wallfisch and her eponymous ensemble is very good. She has been the soloist and director in all seven releases, with a couple of different orchestras. Browsing our reviews of the earlier releases suggests that my colleagues have been consistently happy with the performances. The sound quality is very natural, and the booklet notes are typical of the label.
Anyone collecting this series will obviously grab this one. For someone wishing to sample Telemann’s work for violin and orchestra, an earlier release in the series is probably a better option.
David Barker
Previous review: Dave Billinge
