Georg Philipp TELEMANN (1681-1767)
Fantasias for solo violin, TWV40:14-25 (ca. 1732-36)
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
rec. 2021, Henry Wood Hall, London
HYPERION CDA68384 [66]
Alina Ibragimova has recorded extensively and in a wide variety of repertoire for the Hyperion label, and I particularly enjoyed her Mozart sonatas with Cédric Tiberghein (review). Recorded with fairly close detail but with a subtle halo of fine acoustic in the Henry Wood Hall, this solo recording is another very fine addition to her discography.
Joseph Port's excellent booklet notes for this release inform us that Telemann's four sets of Fantasias, for flute, keyboard, violin and viola da gamba, were written for self-publication and sale in the composer's own edition. Telemann was busily employed as kantor and music director in Hamburg from 1721, and subsequently also as director of the Gänsemarkt Opera, these outlets being only part of his extremely prolific compositional activities. Side hustle or not, “these fantasias are designed as much for the pleasure of playing as for the pleasure of listening. Without being too complex technically or sonically, they need to sustain the interest of both performer and audience.” This free-form kind of piece was perfect for such a market. Telemann mixed things up by combining brief sections or movements that could hark back to older, stricter styles of writing, occasionally throwing in a bit of folk music fun, and also looking at the increasingly fashionable galant style.
Ibragimova's playing embraces Telemann's often playful inventiveness, giving us sprightly energy in the dance movements, real sustained drama where this is demanded, wide dynamic range and expressive lyricism in performances from which that all-important sense of contrast is key. The aesthetic here is ‘period style’ in the sense of generally avoiding vibrato, but the violin sound is both crisp and full, the clarity and skill in playing Telemann's at times very tricky counterpoint (so much for being not too complex technically) at times truly breathtaking.
There are quite a few recordings of the Twelve Fantasias around. Kinga Augustyn has recorded these works with vibrato for Centaur Classics (review), and in early-music mode there are Peter Sheppard Skaerved on Athene and Federico Guglielmo on Brilliant Classics (review), among others. The classic recording by Arthur Grumiaux (review) is also not to be ignored, but is as you might expect different in tone, with tightly projecting vibrato very much a part of the sound. I would personally put Alina Ibragimova at or very near the top of the heap when it comes to the Historically Informed interpretations. Her natural sense of communication gives these pieces an almost effortless feel and this is the kind of recording you can easily enjoy in one sitting, which is not something you can say about too many solo violin discs.
Dominy Clements
Published: November 8, 2022
