Georg Philipp Telemann was born in Magdeburg, the son
of a Lutheran deacon who died in 1685, leaving the
mother to raise their three children alone. The youth
showed remarkable talent in music, but was temporarily
discouraged in his chosen pursuit by Puritan Lutherans,
who told Telemann's mother that he would turn out no
better than "a clown, a tightrope walker or a
marmot-trainer." In opposition to his mother's wishes,
Telemann continued to study in secrecy until she
relented, allowing him to t...(+)
Georg Philipp Telemann was born in Magdeburg, the son
of a Lutheran deacon who died in 1685, leaving the
mother to raise their three children alone. The youth
showed remarkable talent in music, but was temporarily
discouraged in his chosen pursuit by Puritan Lutherans,
who told Telemann's mother that he would turn out no
better than "a clown, a tightrope walker or a
marmot-trainer." In opposition to his mother's wishes,
Telemann continued to study in secrecy until she
relented, allowing him to train under the highly
respected Kantor Benedict Christiani, at the Old City
School. Outside of some early lessons in reading
tablature, Telemann was self-taught and was capable of
playing the flute, violin, viola da gamba, oboe,
trombone, double bass, and several keyboard
instruments. Telemann began to write music from
childhood, producing an opera, Sigismundus, by age
12.
He was considered the most important German composer of
his day and his reputation outlasted him for some time,
but ultimately it was unable to withstand the shadow
cast by the growing popularity of his contemporary,
Johann Sebastian Bach. Telemann enormous output,
perhaps the largest of any classical composer in
history, includes parts of at least 31 cantata cycles,
many operas, concertos, oratorios, songs, music for
civic occasions and church services, passion,
orchestral suites and abundant amounts of chamber
music. While many of these works have been lost, most
still exist, and the sheer bulk of his creativity has
made it difficult for scholars and performers alike to
come to terms with. The inevitable revival of interest
in Telemann did not arrive until the 1920s, but has
grown exponentially ever since, and with the twenty
first century in full swing more of Telemann's music is
played, known, understood and studied than at any time
in history.
The Trio for recorder, harpsichord & continuo in B flat
major (TWV 42:B4) is an isolated piece of unknown
origin, the trio sonata was originally curiously
scored, having parts for recorder, harpsichord
concertante (the term indicated something like
"featured"), and continuo. This seems to imply either a
second harpsichord or possibly even a chamber organ to
realize the continuo figured bass part, but recall that
various instruments were deployed during the Baroque to
realize the continuo--the work may even have been
performed with viola da gamba to support the bass line.
As per performance practices of the day, several such
combinations were probably heard. But, in a clear
indication of the way music was moving toward melody
and away from pulse-like bass patterns, Telemann
himself suggested combining parts, and the piece is
commonly performed today by two instrumentalists. In
four movements that last barely eight minutes, the work
begins with a brief dolce section which breaks out into
a showy vivace. The third movement, a two-minute
Siciliana, is briefly lyrical also, but the closing
vivace, a sort of miniature concerto movement, brings
the work to a close with sparkling effect. Although
brief and lightly textured, the work is sophisticated
in its scoring and counterpoint and contains exemplary
Baroque writing.
Source: Allmusic
(http://www.allmusic.com/composition/trio-for-recorder-
harpsichord-continuo-in-b-flat-major-essercizii-musici-
no-8-16-twv-42b4-mc0002431988).
Although originally composed for Recorder, Harpsichord
& Continuo, I created this Interpretation for Flute &
Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC