Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann | |
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Electorate of Brandenburg | |
Died | 25 June 1767 Free and Imperial City of Hamburg, Holy Roman Empire | (aged 86)
Education | Leipzig University |
Occupations |
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Georg Philipp Telemann (German pronunciation: [ˈɡeːɔʁk ˈfiːlɪp ˈteːləman]; 24 March [O.S. 14 March] 1681 – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history,[1] at least in terms of surviving oeuvre.[2] Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time, and he was compared favourably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather and namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, and to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally.
Almost completely
Life
Early life (1681–1712)
Telemann was born in
In 1697, after studies at the Domschule in Magdeburg and at a school in
Telemann left Leipzig in 1705 at the age of 24, after receiving an invitation to become
Frankfurt (1712–1721)
After around a year he sought another position, and moved to Frankfurt on 18 March 1712 at the age of 31 to become city music director and Kapellmeister at the Barfüßerkirche[4] and St. Catherine's Church.[6] In Frankfurt, he fully gained his mature personal style. Here, as in Leipzig, he was a powerful force in the city's musical life, creating music for two major churches, civic ceremonies, and various ensembles and musicians. By 1720 he had adopted the use of the da capo aria, which had been adopted by composers such as Alessandro Scarlatti. Operas such as Narciso, which was brought to Frankfurt in 1719, written in the Italian idiom of composition, made a mark on Telemann's output.[9]
On 28 August 1714, three years after his first wife had died, Telemann married again, Maria Catharina Textor, daughter of a Frankfurt council clerk.
Hamburg (1721–1767)
Telemann accepted the invitation to work in
Telemann took a few small trips outside of Germany at this time. However, later in the Hamburg period he travelled to Paris and stayed for eight months, 1737 into 1738. He heard and was impressed by Castor et Pollux, an opera by French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. From then on, he incorporated the French operatic style into his vocal works. Before then, his influence was primarily Italian and German.[11] Apart from that, Telemann remained in Hamburg for the rest of his life. A vocal masterpiece of this period is his St Luke Passion from 1728, which is a prime example of his fully matured vocal style.
His first years there were plagued by marital troubles: his wife's infidelity, and her gambling debts, which amounted to a sum larger than Telemann's annual income. The composer was saved from bankruptcy by the efforts of his friends, and by the numerous successful music and poetry publications Telemann made during the years 1725 to 1740. By 1736 husband and wife were no longer living together because of their financial disagreements. Although still active and fulfilling the many duties of his job, Telemann became less productive in the 1740s, when he was in his 60s. He took up theoretical studies, as well as hobbies such as gardening and cultivating exotic plants, something of a fad in Hamburg at that time, and a hobby shared by Handel. Most of the music of the 1750s appears to have been parodied from earlier works. Telemann's eldest son Andreas died in 1755, and Andreas' son
Legacy and influence
Telemann was one of the most prolific major composers of all time:
Particularly striking examples of such judgements were produced by noted Bach biographers
Telemann's music was one of the driving forces behind the late Baroque and the early Classical styles. Starting in the 1710s he became one of the creators and foremost exponents of the so-called German mixed style, an amalgam of German, French, Italian and Polish styles.
Equally significant for the history of music were Telemann's publishing activities. By pursuing exclusive publication rights for his works, he set one of the most important early precedents for regarding music as the intellectual property of the composer. The same attitude informed his public concerts, where Telemann frequently performed music originally composed for ceremonies attended only by a select few members of the upper class.[4]
Partial list of works
Operas
Passions
- Georg Philipp Telemann's Passions
Cantatas
- Cantata Cycle 1716–1717
- Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst
- Die Donner-Ode ("The Ode of Thunder") TWV 6:3a-b
- Du bleibest dennoch unser Gott (Erstausgabe 1730)
- Ihr Völker, hört
- Ino (1765)
- Sei tausendmal willkommen (Erstausgabe 1730)
- Die Tageszeiten ("The Times of the Day") (1757)
- Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, Cantata for the Peace of Paris, 1763, for 5-part chorus, flute, 2 oboes, bassoon, 3 trumpets, 2 horns, strings & continuo, TWV 14:12
- not by Telemann: Der Schulmeister ("The Schoolmaster" 1751), by Christoph Ludwig Fehre.
Oratorios
- Hamburger Admiralitätsmusik several years including TWV 24:1
- Der Tag des Gerichts (The Day of Judgement) (1761–62)
- Hamburgische Kapitänsmusik (various years)
- Der Tod Jesu (The Death of Jesus) TWV 5:6 (1755)
- Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu" (The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus) TWV 6:6, (1760)
- Trauermusik for Emperor Karl VII (1745) Ich hoffete aufs Licht, TWV 4:13
- Trauermusik for Hamburg mayor Garlieb Sillem Schwanengesang TWV 4:6
- Der aus der Löwengrube errettete Daniel ("Daniel Delivered from the Lion's Den") (1731) [This has been incorrectly attributed to Handel]
- Reformations-Oratorium 1755 Holder Friede, Heilger Glaube TWV 13:18[15]
Orchestral suites
- Grillen-symphonie TWV 50:1
- Ouverture (Wassermusik: Hamburger Ebb und Fluth) TWV 55:C3
- Ouverture des nations anciens et modernes in G TWV 55:G4
- Ouverture in G minor TWV 55:g4
- Suite in A minor for recorder, strings, and continuo TWV 55:a2
- Overture: Alster Echo in F, for 4 horns, 2 oboes, bassoon, strings and continuo, TWV55:F11
Chamber music
- Sinfonia Spirituosa in D major (2 violins, viola & continuo, trumpet ad libitum) TWV 44:1
- Tafelmusik (1733) ('Tafelmusik' refers to music meant to accompany a meal)
- Der getreue Musikmeister (1728), a musical journal containing 70 small vocal and instrumental compositions
- Twelve Paris quartets in two sets of six (Quadri a violino, flauto traversiere, viola da gamba o violoncello, e fondamento, 1730, reprinted as Six quatuors, 1736; Nouveaux quatuors en six suites, 1738) for flute, violin, viola da gamba or cello, continuo, TWV 43:G1, D1, A1, g1, e1, h1 (first set), TWV 43:D3, a2, G4, h2, A3, e4 (second set)
- Twelve Fantasias for Transverse Flute without Bass TWV 40:2–13
- Twelve Fantasias for Violin without Bass TWV 40:14–25
- Twelve Fantasias for Viola da Gamba soloTWV 40:26–37
- Sonates sans basse (Telemann) TWV 40:101–106
- Six Canonical SonatasTWV 40: 118–123
- Six Concertos for Flute and Harpsichord TWV 42.
Keyboard
- 36 Fantasias for Keyboard TWV 33:1–36
- 6 Overtures for Keyboard TWV 32:5–10
- 6 Light Fugues with Small Fresh Additions TWV 30:21–26
Organ and theoretical
- 48 Chorale Preludes for Organ TWV 31:1–48
- 20 Easy Fugues in 4 parts TWV 30:1–20
- 500 chorale harmonizations
Concertos
Violin
- Violin Concerto in A major "Die Relinge" TWV 51:A4
- Concerto for Three Violins in F major, TWV 53:F1 (from Tafelmusik, part II)
- Four Concertos for Four ViolinsTWV 40:201–204
Viola
- Concerto in G majorfor Viola and String Orchestra, TWV 51:G9; the first known concerto for viola, still regularly performed today
- Concerto in G majorfor Two Violas and String Orchestra, TWV 52:G3
Horn
- Concerto for Two Horns in D major TWV 52:D1
- Concerto for Two Horns in D major TWV 52:D2
- Concerto for Horn and Orchestra in D major TWV 51:D8
- Concerto for Two Horns in F Major TWV 52:F3
- Concerto for Two Horns in F Major TWV 52:F4
- Concerto for Two Horns in Eb Major TWV 52:Es1
- Concerto for Two Horns in E-flat and 2 Violins, TWV 54:Es1
- Concerto for Three Horns in D and Violin, TWV 54:D2
Trumpet
- Trumpet Concerto in D major, TWV 51:D7
- Concerto in D for Trumpet and 2 Oboes, TWV 53:D2
- Concerto in D for Trumpet, Violin and Violoncello, TWV 53:D5
- Concerto in D for 3 Trumpets, Timpani, 2 Oboes, TWV 54:D3
- Concerto in D for 3 Trumpets, Timpani, TWV 54:D4
Chalumeau
- Concerto in C major for 2 Chalumeaux, 2 Bassoons and Orchestra, TWV 52:C1
- Concerto in D minor for Two Chalumeaux and Orchestra, TWV 52:d1
Oboe
- Concerto in A major
- Concerto in C minor, TWV 51:c1
- Concerto in D minor
- Concerto in E minor
- Concerto in F minor
- Concerto in G major
Bassoon
- Concerto for Recorder and Bassoon in F major, TWV 52:F1
Recorder
- Concerto in C major, TWV 51:C1
- Concerto in F major, TWV 51:F1
- Concerto for Recorder and Viola da gamba in A minor, TWV 52:a1
- Concerto for 2 Recorders in A minor, TWV 52:a2
- Concerto for 2 Recorders in B-flat major, TWV 52:B1
Flute
- Concerto in D major, TWV 51:D2
- Concerto in E minor for Recorder and Flute, TWV 52:e1
- Concerto in B minor, TWV 41:h3
- Concerto in C minor, TWV 41:c3
Sonatas
Sonata da chiesa, TWV 41:g5 (for Melodic instrument – Violin, Flute or Oboe, from Der getreue Musikmeister)
Oboe
- Sonata in A minor TWV 41:a3 (from Der getreue Musikmeister)
- Sonata in B-flat TWV 41:B6
- Sonata in E minor TWV 44:e6
- Sonata in G minor TWV 41:g6
- Sonata in G minor TWV 41:g10
Bassoon
- Sonata in F minor TWV 41:f1 (part of the collection Der getreue Musikmeister, 1728)
- Sonata in E-flat major TWV 41:EsA1
Media
References
Notes
- ISBN 0-553-57895-2.
- ^ See Phillip Huscher, Program Notes – Telemann Tafelmusik III Archived 3 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 2007.
- ^ Einstein, Alfred (1929). "Telemann, Georg Philipp". Hugo Riemanns Musik-Lexikon (in German).
- ^ a b c d e f g Hirschmann, Wolfgang (2016). "Telemann, Georg Philipp (Pseudonym Melante)". Neue Deutsche Biographie. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ As Telemann claimed in his autobiography provided to and printed by Johann Mattheson (1681–1764) in the latter's Grundlage einer Ehren-Pforte (1740), p. 355: "... Ich eine ertappte hamburger Oper, Sigismundus, etwa im zwölfften Jahr meines Alters, in die Musik seßte, welche auch auf einer errichteten Bühne toll genug abegefungen wurde, und wohen ich selbst meinen Held ziemlich troßig vorstellte." [... About my twelfth year of age I took hold of a Hamburg opera, Sigismund, [and] set it to music, which was performed well enough on a home-made stage, and where I personally presented my hero pretty defiantly.]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bergmann, Walter G. (2021). "Georg Philipp Telemann / German composer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ Spitta, Phillip, Johann Sebastian Bach (publ 1873–1880) translated from the German (1884–1899) by Clara Bell and J.A. Fuller-Maitland, Dover 1951 (republished 1959, 1992, 2015), Vol II, pp. 204–207: "The direct connection between opera and sacred music which thus took form in the person of Telemann at once exerted its baleful influence... Kuhnau represented that the tendencies of the 'Operists' ... were destroying all feeling for true church music..." Spitta, ibid. Appendix B VII (actually B IV, p. 303): "... [In] Memorials of Kuhnau's, addressed to the Town Council and to the University on ... March 17, 1709... [Kuhlau] appeals to ... consider certain points... 8 & 9 refer to the numbers of the choir, and 10 complains again of the increasing influence of the opera; this, he says, causes the greatest mischief, for the better students, as soon as they have acquired... sufficient practice, long to find themselves among the Operisten"
- ISBN 978-1-4437-3093-8.
- ^ a b c "Baroque Composers and musicians". Baroquemusic.org. 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ "Georg Philipp Telemann – Viola Concerto in G, TWV51:G9". Classical Archives. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ Wollny, Peter (1994). Notes on Telemann's St. Matthew Passion. hannsler classic. pp. 12–15.
- ^ Profile on Classic FM website
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.
- ^ Gadow, Hans (1911). Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 408. . In
- ^ Concerto: Das Magazin für Alte Musik, Vol. 22, p. 14, 2005: "Am 24. September erklingt dann in St. Anna erstmals wieder Georg Philipp Telemanns Oratorium Holder Friede, Heilger Glaube, das 1755 zum 200. Jubiläum des Augsburger Religionsfriedens entstanden ist."
External links
Further information on Telemann and his works
- Georg Philipp Telemann (Composer) Bach Cantatas Website]
- Georg Philipp Telemann at www
.baroquemusic .org - Partial list of Telemann publications and TWV numbers, Robert Poliquin, Université du Québec (archive from 13 August 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2015). (French)
- Telemann as opera composer from 1708–61, OperaGlass, Stanford University.
Modern editions
- Prima la musica! Commercially available performing editions of Telemann's music, as well as other baroque composers.
- Habsburger Verlag Modern performing editions of Telemann's cantatas edited by Eric Fiedler.
- Edition Musiklandschaften Modern performing editions of Telemann's yearly Passions from 1757 to 1767 edited by Johannes Pausch
Free sheet music
- Free scores by Georg Philipp Telemann at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Free scores by Georg Philipp Telemann in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Free scores, Cantatas, Archiv der kreuznacher-diakonie-kantorei.
- Free scores of Telemann's Harpsichord Fantasias TWV 33:1–36[usurped] at Brightcecilia Classical Music Forums[usurped]
- The Mutopia Project has compositions by Georg Philipp Telemann