In their versions for
solo instrument and basso continuo,
these suites are familiar to oboists,
violinists and, of course, recorder
players, whose repertoire debt to Telemann
is immeasurable. I can confirm, as a
devotee of the recorder myself, that
the suites from Die Kleine Kammermusik
are of particular value as their
original pitch suits the descant (soprano)
recorder. It’s not that there is any
shortage of work for that excessively
high-pitched instrument, just that the
best of Telemann’s solo sonatas are
for the treble (alto) of the family.
On this CD we have
the first recording of Telemann’s orchestration
of the suites. Given that Telemann was
very well acquainted with some of the
best players of his day, the oboe is
very much to the fore as a solo instrument.
The original suites were written as
melody line plus figured bass and Telemann
retained the top and bottom lines, realising
the basso continuo as inner orchestral
parts. The repeats are ornamented in
the standard baroque manner. While the
individual numbers are not titled as
dances (allemande, courante,
gavotte, etc, unlike Bach’s orchestral
suites, and many others of the day)
but as Arias (with a Preludio
for each suite), many of which are in
the French fashion. Others are contrapuntal
or dances from elsewhere (even one that
could pass for a Highland fling!).
In migrating these
fairly lightweight sets of tunes to
the larger form, Telemann added substance
(and about fifty percent to the length)
by prefacing each suite with a substantial
ouverture in the French style.
Of course, we are not talking about
suites on the scale of Bach’s, neither
in size nor seriousness, nor would they
been intended to be. The essence of
Telemann’s music is bourgeois and middle-class,
typically written for the amateur. His
art as a composer was to compose works
playable by a modest performer but which
repay the skill brought to them by a
virtuoso.
So here we have music
that works whether played by a student
of the recorder or a baroque orchestra
of the quality of La Stagione Frankfurt
under Michael Schneider’s capable direction
(he is himself a recorder player of
distinction). The playing is warm and
stylish and is enthusiastically recommended
when you feel like easing back into
an armchair of baroque easy-listening
comfort!
Roger Blackburn
La Stagione Frankfurt; Michael Schneider (conductor)
