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Telemann: Ouvertures Pittoresques / Gester, Arte Dei Suonatori

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Details

Composer
TELEMANN, GEORG PHILIPP
Artist
Martin, Arte Dei Suonatori, Gester
Format
SACD
Label
BIS
Released
Jan 01, 2013
Catalog #
BIS-1979
UPC
7318599919799

About


Telemann drew inspiration from just about every national genre and style of the period throughout his lengthy and prolific career. Alluding to this diversity, this program titled “Ouvertures pittoresques” (picturesque openings) features three of Telemann’s more evocative and instrumentally diverse overtures, as well as two Concerto polonois, briefer works specifically inspired by his longstanding admiration of Polish music (early on he often visited the region and remained an enthusiastic fan of the culture, and especially its folk music). The Polish period-instrument ensemble Arte dei Suonatori, directed by Martin Gester, clearly has an affinity for these concertos and delivers first rate performances throughout this 77-minute program.

The opening Overture in D major, scored for three oboes (one of Telemann’s favorite instruments), strings, and basso continuo, is composed strictly in the French style and is the least adventurous offering of the lot. Nevertheless, it’s still consummate Telemann, and when performed this well the many inspired moments–the inventive fugue that laces the second-movement Prelude Tres viste; the witty rhythmic play during the Menuets; and the ebullient, boisterous humor of the fifth-movement Harlequinade–absolutely shine.

Immediately following is one of Telemann’s most fascinating and famous works, nicknamed posthumously Völker-Overture (“The Nations”) because instead of typical dance titles, most of the movements are subtitled and meant to be evocative of specific nationalities. Like most ensembles, Arte dei Suonatori has great fun here, though the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin’s performance (Harmonia Mundi) reviewed earlier remains marginally more captivating. For instance, while the unusual use of percussion here in Les Turcs is a nice touch, Arte dei Suonatori’s performance just misses the momentum and wit that gives the Berliners’ romp a slight edge. Les Boiteux and Les Coureurs also suffer somewhat from this as well, but the group’s wonderful rendering of Les Moscovites, where the whole ensemble gradually eases into the beat (as opposed to each instrument eventually entering on their own in the Berlin performance), is equally compelling.

Before the final overture are the two Concerto polonois, works stylistically indebted as much to Poland and Saxony as they are to Italy (the verve of the allegros is especially Vivaldi-like). Musica Antiqua Köln (DG Archiv) has previously offered excellent performances of these two, often playing up the contrast between the two fast and two slow movements of each. Arte dei Suonatori takes a similar approach, yet their performance satisfies more because in comparison more attention is paid to the dynamic and rhythmic subtleties throughout, heightening the festive dance element Telemann most likely had in mind.

Concluding the program is another well-known Telemann favorite, his Ouverture, jointes d’une Suite tragi-comique, where each movement is meant to programmatically allude to either an ailment or a remedy. Not surprisingly, the ailment movements (Le Podagre, L’Hypocondre, and Le Petite-maitre) are slower, if not sluggish at times, and take nearly twice as long as the more celebratory and peppy remedies (La Poste et la Dance, Souffrance heroique, and Petite-maison: Furies). Here Arte dei Suonatori again rivals another formidable recording by the Academie für Alte Musik Berlin on Harmonia Mundi, though this time their performance is tops. For instance, the performance here of Le Podagre lumbers along convincingly enough while the Berliners’ rendering is so slow it at times borders on atonality. By drawing out more of the rhythmic variety in the Furies finale as well, Arte dei Suonatori delivers a much more exciting performance compared to the only slightly shorter Berlin mad dash.

The SACD sound is absolutely stunning. The clarity of the instrumental detail is remarkably life-like without sacrificing the illusion of the ensemble as a whole. This is state of the art Telemann and highly recommended.

-- John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 31 tracks

  1. 1 I. Ouverture: Grave. Allegro. Grave 06:39
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Ouverture: Grave. Allegro. Grave
    Duration
    06:39
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  2. 2 II. Prelude 01:04
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Prelude
    Duration
    01:04
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  3. 3 III. Gigue 02:39
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Gigue
    Duration
    02:39
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  4. 4 IV. Menuet I-II 03:09
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Menuet I-II
    Duration
    03:09
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  5. 5 V. Harlequinade 02:34
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Harlequinade
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  6. 6 VI. Loure 02:42
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Loure
    Duration
    02:42
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  7. 7 VII. Rondeau 01:18
    Track
    7
    Title
    VII. Rondeau
    Duration
    01:18
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  8. 8 VIII. Rejouissance 02:37
    Track
    8
    Title
    VIII. Rejouissance
    Duration
    02:37
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  9. 9 I. Overture 06:30
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. Overture
    Duration
    06:30
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  10. 10 II. Menuets I and II 03:31
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Menuets I and II
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  11. 11 III. Les turcs 02:23
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. Les turcs
    Duration
    02:23
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  12. 12 IV. Les suisses 01:44
    Track
    12
    Title
    IV. Les suisses
    Duration
    01:44
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  13. 13 V. Les moscovites 01:32
    Track
    13
    Title
    V. Les moscovites
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  14. 14 VI. Les portugais 02:26
    Track
    14
    Title
    VI. Les portugais
    Duration
    02:26
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  15. 15 VII. Les boiteux - Les coureurs 01:26
    Track
    15
    Title
    VII. Les boiteux - Les coureurs
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  16. 16 VIII. Les coureurs 02:11
    Track
    16
    Title
    VIII. Les coureurs
    Duration
    02:11
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  17. 17 I. Polonaise 02:07
    Track
    17
    Title
    I. Polonaise
    Duration
    02:07
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  18. 18 II. Allegro 03:29
    Track
    18
    Title
    II. Allegro
    Duration
    03:29
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  19. 19 III. Largo 02:15
    Track
    19
    Title
    III. Largo
    Duration
    02:15
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  20. 20 IV. Allegro 00:59
    Track
    20
    Title
    IV. Allegro
    Duration
    00:59
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  21. 21 I. Andante 02:00
    Track
    21
    Title
    I. Andante
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  22. 22 II. Allegro 02:12
    Track
    22
    Title
    II. Allegro
    Duration
    02:12
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  23. 23 III. Largo 02:11
    Track
    23
    Title
    III. Largo
    Duration
    02:11
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  24. 24 IV. Allegro 01:48
    Track
    24
    Title
    IV. Allegro
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  25. 25 I. (Ouverture): Lentement - Vite - Lentement 04:47
    Track
    25
    Title
    I. (Ouverture): Lentement - Vite - Lentement
    Duration
    04:47
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  26. 26 II. Le Podagre (Loure) 02:09
    Track
    26
    Title
    II. Le Podagre (Loure)
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  27. 27 III. Remede experimente: La Poste et la danse (Menuet en rondeau) 00:59
    Track
    27
    Title
    III. Remede experimente: La Poste et la danse (Menuet en rondeau)
    Duration
    00:59
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  28. 28 IV. L'Hypocondre (Sarabande) 02:18
    Track
    28
    Title
    IV. L'Hypocondre (Sarabande)
    Duration
    02:18
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  29. 29 V. Remede: Souffrance heroique (Marche) 01:06
    Track
    29
    Title
    V. Remede: Souffrance heroique (Marche)
    Duration
    01:06
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  30. 30 VI. Le Petit-maitre (Rondeau) 01:42
    Track
    30
    Title
    VI. Le Petit-maitre (Rondeau)
    Duration
    01:42
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester
  31. 31 VII. Remede: Petite-maison: Furies 01:02
    Track
    31
    Title
    VII. Remede: Petite-maison: Furies
    Duration
    01:02
    Composer
    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Ensemble
    Arte dei Suonatori
    Conductor
    Martin Gester