November 22, 2021
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Fantasias from a Composer's Composer
Telemann: 12 Fantasias
Thomas Bowes, violin.
Navona Records 6378
Total Time: 73:03
Recording: ****/****
Performance: ****/****Those who first come to Baroque music often do so through the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. It is from Bach, that our impressions of style and musical gestures can be shaped, for good or worse, and we can then be enthralled by the technician that Bach was and inadvertently hold others to that same standard. This can lead casual listeners to be a bit more dismissive of a lot of other Baroque music. Two other contemporaries though are composer’s composers: artists that explored the depths of experimentation and harmonic ingenuity along with the possibilities of developing instruments. Bach did this too, but from a different, sometimes more cerebral, approach. Johann Pachelbel and George Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) though wrote a great deal of music, sometimes less innovative, but always compelling and engaging. It is Telemann whose music is the focus of violinist Thomas Bowes exploration of twelve works for unaccompanied violin.
Bach’s solo sonatas and partitas were composed around 1720 but remained unpublished until the early 19th Century. That is important to keep in mind as Telemann would not likely have seen those works or known of them at all. After Telemann arrived in Hamburg, he would embrace the new developments in music publishing creating pieces that were commercially viable. A rather innovative move that would also manage to preserve his music when he began using copper and pewter plates and publishing his own music himself. Into this moment arise the appearance of a variety of works for solo instrument among them the pieces on this new release. The solo violin fantasias appeared in 1735, a bit at the crossroads of the other works Telemann wrote for unaccompanied solo instruments.
Telemann’s thinking of larger-structural organization is apparent in each of the fantasia sets and in those for violin, the twelve works can be grouped into four sets of three. The first two fantasias in are in major keys and the last is in a minor key. The tonic centers of the individual fantasias also can be seen to have a connection. The outer set’s last fantasia is a fifth away from that of the first in that set, but in an unexpected minor key. The inner sets are a fifth from the second fantasia’s key center. The most striking harmonic shifts occur between the seventh and eight fantasia where Telemann sets the former in Eb Major and the later in E Major. That places the ninth fantasia a tritone away form the first in this subset!
The music itself features a blend of technical challenges that can be “easily” handled by the amateur musician but provide as much reward to an accomplished musician. The use of the title “fantasia” also give Telemann freedom to pick and choose from basic binary and da capo forms as well as dance forms. Gigues and gavottes, a minuet, and even some movements that feel like folk dance certainly increased the appeal of these pieces blending courtly music with rural fiddling. Again, this is that excellent middle ground Telemann was adept at exploiting for his music. This is what also then makes the pieces a real delight to listen to on their own as they are not just technical exercises of virtuosic technique. But, lest we be dismissive, it is worth noting that there are some movements that do require double stops here and there and there are musical gestures that have the soloist feeling like they are about to perform a concerto, explore a fugue, or just enjoy a moment of rusticism.
Thomas Bowes is a noted violinist from the UK with previous releases on the label of the aforementioned Bach works as well as music by Ysaye. He plays on an Amati violin from 1659 which has a quite full, rich sound. That quality is beautifully captured in Navona’s release which places the violin firmly at the center of the sound picture with just a touch of natural hall ambience. Bowes creates beautiful renditions of these pieces that capture the moments of sheer joy, the folkish gestures, and then those moments of more sublime reflection that cause one to reflect more deeply. More importantly, the music is quite captivating in this performance with phrasing and articulation helping to further highlight the many unique ideas in Telemann’s music.
There are a few complete recordings of these pieces that tend ot be at the fringe of Baroque repertoire, but Navona brings listeners a chance to acquire them at a quite reasonable price in performances that will certainly reward repeated listening.