Heinz Holliger is an important advocate of the music of Telemann,
but he's not averse to taking liberties now and then. The main
body of this programme is 'The Twelve Fantasias', better known
as the Twelve Fantasias for Solo Flute. And not only does he
play them on an oboe, but it is a modern oboe using modern articulation
techniques.
Consummate musicianship is his saving grace, and the sheer elegance
of these recordings should endear them to all but the most trenchant
of period performance fundamentalists. Yes, there is a considerable
amount of vibrato, and some of the tempi are extreme, but the
interpretation of each of the short works is impressively coherent,
and the technical proficiency of the playing is unparalleled.
Writing for the oboe, I suspect Telemann would have focused
on the lower register, but the top end holds few horrors for
Holliger, whose rich tone is almost equally apparent above the
stave as it is lower down.
Many of the Fantasias are divided into a number of very short
movements, usually with very little thematic or tonal contrast
between them. This allows Holliger to make the most of the metre
and tempo contrasts without compromising the integrity of the
whole. You'll often find, for example, a slow, strident introduction
of only a few bars, then cutting seamlessly into a courtly dance.
Telemann doesn't emphasise endings in the same way as he does
beginnings, and Holliger is impressively restrained in the ornamented
ralls that he adds to many of the cadences.
Ornamentation, when it comes, tends to be quite deliberate,
for example slow trills with every note emphasised. But ornamentation
is the exception rather than the rule, so these more emphatic
gestures do not overly intrude. Likewise with the vibrato, which
only really comes into play on the longer, louder notes, but
when it is there you know about it, as it is wide, slow and
emphatic.
The recorded sound is good, although the microphones are set
a little too close and much of the fast passage-work is interrupted
by the sound of the keys. I don't think the recording is particularly
old - the liner doesn't give a date - so I'm not sure how much
the tone has changed through the process of re-mastering. However,
there is a brightness to the tone which borders on the abrasive
at times, a consequence, perhaps of overzealous cleaning.
The healthy running time of 70 minutes is made up with a Suite
in G minor, in which Holliger is joined by a continuo team of
bassoon and harpsichord. Again, this is Telemann in modern dress,
the ensemble going for a comfortable tafelmusik atmosphere rather
than for any of the austerities imposed by period performance
aesthetics. It is a technically proficient ensemble, and like
Holliger himself, the bassoon and harpsichord refrain from excessive
ornamentation. In other circumstances, I could imagine a more
equitable sound balance, but mix here really emphasises the
oboe as solo instrument. And again, the limited contrast of
keys and themes between the movements is balanced by clearly
delineated tempos changes. A punchy, lively and elegant conclusion
to a masterly Telemann programme.
Gavin Dixon
Heinz Holliger (oboe); Klaus Thunemann (bassoon); Christiane Jaccottet
(harpsichord) 
