Customer Reviews

Telemann: Six Orchestral Suites after "Die Kleine Kammermusik" 1716

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This music was originally composed as chamber music, then revised later by Telemann as orchestral music. The origins of the orchestral manuscripts are described in the notes. Telemann appended French overtures to the original music when placing it in an orchestral framework.

If you know Telemann's Water Music (not to be confused with Handel's Water Music), you will have an idea of the sound of these Orchestral Suites. The French overtures are gems, rich and stately, and are followed by various relatively short movements that display Telemann's incredible fecundity of melodic ideas.

Schneider and La Stagione Frankfurt are an excellent band of musicians that have recorded several other fine discs for CPO. The recording, as is often but not always the case with CPO, is very fine.

I suppose I can understand the negative review, but anyone who buys Telemann ought to know that you aren't going to be bowled over by his genius, or lack thereof. The man could be resourceful, tender, passionate, exuberant, but rarely profound.

I happen to think Telemann was at his best when writing in the high baroque style (the style of Bach) when he was younger, and that is exactly when these suites were written. His older works can seem flippant to me. The vigor of his writing, especially as he began to "try out" and imitate the newer rococo (pre-classical) styles, declined as he aged.

I like these suites. They never dabble in the same flippant excesses that one finds in his later suites which, at times, amount to poorly told jokes. If you enjoy the vigor of the high baroque, you'll like these suites.