Search - Telemann :: Table Music 1 / La Lyra

A GEM at Bargain-Basement Price! Wonderful!

John Parker Marmaro | Spring Hill, Florida | 06/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Telemann is a first-class composer who is woefully underrated and underappreciated. Bach himself knew otherwise-- he respected Telemann enormously. Telemann was far and away the most famous of the two during their lifetimes. Now we recognize Bach to be the towering giant he is-- but sadly, to some it has seemed necessary to praise him with invidious comparisons to Telemann, condemning the latter as a lightweight. This is not only unfair, but vastly untrue. Yet some critics continue in this Telemann-bashing (such as one writer of a "Guide" to Classical music who makes the outrageous assertion that one movement by Tchaikovsky is worth more than Telemann's entire output!!!! Well, if one dislikes the Baroque and loves the Romantic period, maybe such a ridiculous statement might be understandable, though nonetheless ridiculous.) Truth to tell, Telemann is fully a peer of Bach, Handel and Vivaldi, and in fact more individual in some ways than any of them. This wonderful disc is a great testimony to that. It contains two suites, one a firstrank masterpiece, the other almost as good. The former is the Tafelmusik (Tablemusic) Suite no. 1 in E Minor for Two Transverse Flutes (modern flutes) and String Orchestra. What a marvellous suite, the peer both of Bach's Suite in B Minor and Telemann's own more famous Suite in A Minor for Recorder. The orchestrations are, as always in Telemann, delicious-- and the music is masterful and fascinating: Telemann has an unflagging rhythmic vitality and an invention as fertile as any of the greatest composers. The music constantly surprises with its myriad, delightful syncopations and irregular phrase-lengths; his use of the two flutes against the sonority of the strings is a constant pleasure. The opening is a French Overture, with a slw introduction, followed by a fast contrapuntal section. Then, listen to the second movement charmingly titled "Rejouissance"--what wonderful rhythms! It is followed by a Rondeau, a Loure, a Passepied, an Air, a Gigue, and then a wonderful Conclusion: Allegro (listen to the unusual treatment of the flutes). Throughout he not only uses the flutes as soloists, but also various strings. This performance-- Thank Heaven! on modern instruments-- is truly excellent-- as is that of the second suite on this disc, for strings alone. The English title in the liner notes says it is in E-sharp Major (!) But in German is it "Es-Dur", which is E-flat Major-- and this is actually the key. (There IS an "E-sharp Major" but it is enharmonic with F.) Though subtler than the E Minor Suite, it is another wonderful piece, and even here there are surprises: the third movement, Allegro, has imitations of bucolic bagpipe drones, and marchlike begins pianissimo, gets louder (as if the country band were approaching) and then fades into the distance. The following Adagio is very beautiful; a series of lively dances follow. The playing of the Camerata Romana is of the highest caliber throughout, the recording is well done-- in short this is a wonderful part of the Telemann discography, and at bargain-basement price too! Lovers of "period" performances may cavil, but practically every available Telemann disc is "period instrument" anyway, so for those of us not fond of that sonority, this is a true find!"