Who’s your favourite recorder composer? Are you a Baroque aficionado, or a fan of contemporary music? One of the things I love about my work is being able to help the musicians I meet discover new music and to enable them to play familiar pieces better. From time to time I’ll take a look at composers and the music they’ve written for the recorder, making suggestions for recordings you may enjoy along the way. For the first of these occasional posts I decided to begin with someone who played the recorder himself and wrote effortlessly for the instrument – Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767).
I’ll concentrate today on Telemann’s solo recorder sonatas, but our favourite instrument features in much more of his music so I’ll return to that in a later post. Even if you don’t often play solo repertoire yourself, I encourage you to read on as I hope you’ll discover something new and I’ve chosen lots of wonderful performances for you to listen to.
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Telemann may naturally spring to mind as a great composer to us, but he hasn’t always enjoyed universal popularity or been viewed with such esteem. By the nineteenth century he was dismissed by many musicologists as a polygraph – writing too much music, with quantity outweighing quality. The 1911 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica referred to him very negatively in comparison with Bach and Handel, talking about "the vastly inferior work of lesser composers such as Telemann". Damning words, but if the writer of that sentence could have spoken to Telemann’s contemporaries, he’d have heard of a man whose musical expertise was very highly considered. He knew both J.S.Bach and Handel well and became godfather to Bach’s son, Carl Philipp Emanuel.
Telemann was self-taught in music and, like many 18th century musicians, was a multi-instrumentalist, playing the recorder, flute, oboe, violin, viola da gamba, double bass and other instruments too. His family made it clear they wished him to follow a different career, so initially he went into the law, later gravitating back to life as a full-time musician.
He was certainly prolific, composing over 3000 works – over three times the output of J.S.Bach! Sadly around half of these pieces have since been lost, but that still leaves us with a vast and varied repertoire. He loved absorbing different influences, bringing French, Italian, German and even Polish national styles into his writing. Composition evidently came easily to Telemann – his contemporary and friend Handel, once jokingly said that he "could write a church piece in eight parts with the same expedition another would write a letter".
The largest part of Telemann’s working life (1721-1767) was spent in Hamburg, where he was employed to write music for all five of the city’s churches. It’s reputed that his salary was about three times what Bach was paid for a similar role in Leipzig so the city evidently appreciated his talents. In 1722 a search was made for a new Kantor at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche and Telemann was first choice for the job. Ultimately Hamburg city council wouldn’t release him from his duties there, so he had to decline the job and the post was filled by Bach – although apparently he wasn’t even the second choice for the job!
Musician and businessman
Not only was Telemann a wonderful composer, but he was also a canny businessman. He made a point of pursuing exclusive publication rights for his works, setting an important early precedent regarding music as the intellectual property of the composer. Between 1725 and 1740 he published more than 40 volumes of music, which were widely distributed across Europe. One of these publishing ventures is particularly relevant to his recorder output as we’ll see later.
The recorder sonatas
It was common for Baroque composers to write sonatas which mention the recorder in their title pages. With many, they were aimed at as wide a market as possible, often listing the music as being suitable for two or three instruments, often a combination of recorder, flute, oboe or violin. Telemann did this too (for instance his Sonata in F minor can be played on recorder or bassoon) and no doubt this broadened his sales opportunities. But one gets a definite sense while playing his sonatas that the music was really intended for the recorder, using the full range of the instrument and playing to its strengths. In contrast, Handel’s recorder sonatas are beautiful, but they rarely utilise the higher notes and would just as easily sit on the flute or violin. In contrast, Telemann, as a recorder player himself, explores the instrument’s possibilities more fully and even specifies particular articulation in some works.
Telemann’s recorder sonatas come in three collections (plus a lone sonata which stands alone), numbering nine in total. There are other collections too, such as the Methodical Sonatas, originally composed for flute, which can be stolen by recorder players. But ‘borrowing’ flute repertoire usually requires transposing the music up a minor third (common practice by 18th century recorder players) and this can compromise the ease of playing because you sometimes end up in less comfortable keys. For the purposes of this blog post I’ll concentrate on the ‘pure’ recorder sonatas, but if you’re looking for further music to inspire and stretch you I also recommend the Methodical Sonatas. Each sonata begins with a slow movement which shows both the plain melodic lines and Telemann’s own florid ornamentation. they’re a wonderful lesson on the extremes one can explore while embellishing Baroque music and contain some exquisite music.
Der getreue Music-Meister
In 1728 Telemann came up with the idea for a music periodical – the first of its kind. Every two weeks he would publish a new ‘Lection’ or lesson, containing freshly composed music.
The title page is inscribed thus:
“The faithful Music-Master, who intends to supply all kinds of musical pieces, as much for singers as for instrumentalists, for various voices and nearly all customary instruments, and also moral, operatic, and other arias and TRIOS, DUETS, SOLOS etc. SONATAS, OUVERTURES, etc., and also containing FUGUES, COUNTERPOINTS, CANONS, etc. hence almost everything which occurs in music, intended to be played according to the Italian, French, English, Polish, and as much serious as lively and entertaining manner, every 14 days in one LECTION by Telemann.”
Der getreue Music-Meister stretched to no new fewer than twenty five editions, published during 1728 and 1729. Telemann showed a streak of publishing genius here, including a variety of single movements in each edition. This meant that if you wanted to play a complete sonata you had to keep up your subscription to collect all the movements!
The first piece in Telemann’s Der getreue Music-Meister is the Recorder Sonata in F
Dotted through Der getreue Music-Meister you’ll find four solo sonatas for recorder, as well as Telemann’s wonderful ‘Girlfriends’ trio sonata (two recorders and basso continuo) which depicts women from classical history.
Many recorder players will start their explorations of Telemann’s recorder music with the Sonata in F major, which is only modestly challenging. For those who’d like to try playing this sonata with accompaniment, but don’t have a tame accompanist, I recommend looking at Tabea Debus’s Continuo Lines website where you can download performances of the three movements at different tempi. Tabea is planning to gradually expand the variety of repertoire available so do have a root around and you may find some other sonatas you’d like to explore with virtual continuo.
The F major Sonata is perhaps Telemann’s least demanding from a technical standpoint, although it does require a little courage and positivity to play the top C (an octave higher than the one just about the treble stave) in the final movement. It’s here you see Telemann thinking as a recorder player himself - Handel would never have dreamt of using such extreme notes. But Telemann knows this highest note is appropriate as it occurs at the climax of the movement.
Sonata in F major, performed by Erik Bosgraaf
The Sonata in C major is a favourite of mine, and was one of the first pieces of Telemann’s I learnt as a teenager. Here you really get a sense of the composer’s familiarity with the recorder, exploiting the high register for climactic moments in the music. Telemann also includes articulation marks throughout the sonata, some of them quirky, but always stylish and perfectly suited to the instrument. The final Vivace is a real musical firework, with energetically leaping arpeggios and flurries of demisemiquavers which sound very virtuosic. Of course, Telemann innately knew how to write sympathetically for the recorder so these whizzy passages lie beautifully under the fingers.
Sonata in C major, performed by Hyowon Lee
Perhaps the least well known of the recorder sonatas in Der getreue Music-Meister is the Sonata in B flat major. Unusually, this work is written as a strict canon, with the bassline following the recorder part at a few beats distance. In some hands such strict canonic writing would limit the possibilities of the music, but Telemann uses just as much variety and creativity as in his other sonatas.
Sonata in B flat, performed by Clas Pehrsson
Finally we have the Sonata in F minor, which Telemann suggests as being for recorder or bassoon. Here he ventures into a much darker soundworld, opening with a deliciously dramatic and chromatic Triste. The Allegro and Vivace movements are some of Telemann’s most finger-twisting, and a good grasp of flat key scales and arpeggios is a must if you’re to feel at home in F minor. It’s worth persevering though, as being at ease with this music will free you up to explore the dramatic possibilities of the music.
Sonata in F minor, performed by Erik Bosgraaf
As I researched this blog post I learnt it’s not just recorder players who pilfer music from other instruments and I couldn’t resist sharing another performance of the F minor Sonata with you - this time impeccably played on the trombone by Stefan Schulz!
Essercizii Musici
Telemann continued to explore the possibilities of publishing mixed collections of chamber music later in his life, and around 1739 he came up with Essercizii Musici. This collection contains two sets of twelve sonatas for one or two instruments and continuo, featuring combinations of recorder, flute, violin, oboe and viola da gamba, alongside a series of suites for solo harpsichord. Essercizii Musici includes two solo sonatas for recorder which, I think, are among his best.
In the Sonata in C major Telemann experiments with a fluidity of writing, shifting seamlesslybetween Adagio and Allegro tempi. Unusually the lilting Larghetto which follows is in F minor, offering a brief moment of serenity before the fireworks recommence in the final Vivace.
Sonata in C major, performed by Pamela Thorby
The second recorder work in this collection is the Sonata in D minor – my favourite among Telemann’s solo sonatas. This is Telemann at his most daring, with immense drama, big contrasts of dynamic and rapid mood swings.
The opening lines of the D minor Sonata, showing Telemann’s daring use of dynamics
Many a time I’ve programmed this piece as the finale of a recital (a role it fulfils perfectly), only to wonder what possessed me when I remember how much energy it demands at the end of a long concert! Erik Bosgraaf captures the drama perfectly in this performance, particularly with the seamless transition into a positively operatic Grave.
Sonata in D minor, performed by Erik Bosgraaf
The Recorder Sonatinas
Published 1731, Telemann’s two Sonatinas for recorder were part of a collection titled Neue Sonatinen für Clavier, Violine, Flûte trav und Flûte à bec. For a long while the bassline for these sonatas was lost, but a few years ago a complete manuscript of the same works (this time presented as violin sonatas) was discovered in Dresden. This discovery made it possible to perform the Sonatinas asnthe composer intended, although they are still less commonly heard than Telemann’s other recorder sonatas.
Both these works begin to look ahead, musically speaking, with a style which hints at the Galant – that transition between Baroque and Classical – especially in the effortlessly elegant slow movements.
In many ways the Sonatina in A minor feels like a close sibling of Telemann’s other minor key sonatas, exploring virtuosity and sinuous chromatic passages.
Sonatina in A minor, performed by Stefan Temingh
The Sonatina in C minor is another piece which seems somewhat operatic to me, with contrasts of mood and unexpected shifts of harmony.
Sonatina in C minor, performed by Maurice Steger
Sonata in F minor
This final sonata is something of an outlier, and can be found in a single manuscript at the Bibliotheque du Conservatoire in Brussels. It’s less dramatic than Telemann’s others and perhaps feels like a more ‘generic’ Baroque sonata. That said, I do have a fondness for the opening Adagio, especially in this beautifully expressive performance by Saskia Coolen.
Recommended editions
There are countless editions of Telemann’s recorder sonatas, so I won’t go through each in turn. If you want a good, clean, complete edition you can’t go far wrong with Bernard Thomas’s Complete Original Recorder Sonatas published by Dolce (DOL124). Hortus Musicus publish a good edition of the sonatas from Der getreue Music-Meister (edition number HM6) and I’d recommend the Amadeus edition of the two Essercizii Musici sonatas (BP2052).
Of course, if you want to explore this wonderful repertoire before buying a published edition, it’s worth heading over to Telemann’s page on IMSLP and typing recorder into the ‘Search category’ box halfway down the page for copyright free editions.
Facsimile editions of both Der getreue Music-Meister and Essercizii Musici are available and both are quite easily read by modern eyes too. Both collections are published by Musica Repartita – MR250 for the former, and MR251 for the latter.
Further listening
It’s been a pleasure to explore the many recordings of Telemann’s Sonatas while researching this blog post and I’ve discovered some wonderful performances which I’ll keep returning to. Here are a few of my favourites:
Telemann: The Recorder Sonatas – Erik Bosgraaf & Francesco Corti (Brilliant Classics) Wonderfully dramatic performances and you can see videos of Erik playing most of them on his YouTube channel too.
Telemann Recorder Sonatas and Fantasias – Pamela Thorby with Peter Whelan, Alison McGillivray, Elizabeth Kenny & Marcin Świątkiewicz (Linn records) Pamela’s performance of the Essercizii Musici C major Sonata is wonderfully organic and the Fantasias are a lovely bonus. The continuo team is a mix of cello, lute, harpsichord and organ, creating great variety.
Telemann Recorder Sonatas and Fantasias – Frans Bruggen, Anner Bylsma & Gustav Leonhardt (Apex) These feel a little dated in places now, but worth exploring as in their time they were some of the best.
Telemann Sonatas No.1-7 – Saskia Coolen, Margriet Tindemans & Peter Watshorn (Globe). I particularly love Saskia’s spacious approach to the Affettuoso of the D minor Sonata.
Telemann Solo and Trio Sonatas – Maurice Steger, Continuo Consort & Naoki Kitaya (Claves) – a real showman and it’s a joy to hear some of Telemann’s exquisite trio sonatas here too.
Telemann Cantatas for soprano and recorder – Stefan Temmingh, Dorothee Mields and continuo (Accent). A particularly lovely performance of the A minor Sonatina alongside cantatas and trio sonatas which all feature the recorder.
If you’ve enjoyed this romp through Telemann’s recorder sonatas please do let me know in the comments below which other composers you’d like me to explore. The recorder’s repertoire is enormously varied and I hope these posts may help you discover music, familiar and unknown, for our favourite instrument.
Likewise, if you have favourite editions of these works or other recordings you particularly enjoy do tell us about them in the comments below.