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Steven Zohn, A trove of Telemann, Early Music, Volume 40, Issue 2, May 2012, Pages 331–337, https://doi.org/10.1093/em/cas060
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Extract
That the majority of the Telemann recordings in this batch feature vocal works, more than a few appearing for the first time on disc, reflects a preoccupation over the past few decades with publishing, performing and studying the composer’s operas, oratorios, cantatas and songs, which have been long neglected in favour of his justifiably popular instrumental works. Not that interest in the latter has flagged, as complete recordings in progress of Telemann’s overture-suites, violin concertos and wind concertos vividly attest. But we have moved into an era in which his achievements in all genres, across his long career, are better understood than ever before. ‘Knowing’ Telemann, something that seemed all but impossible not so long ago, now seems a reachable goal.
Few of Telemann’s instrumental works are as beloved as the twelve so-called ‘Paris’ quartets for flute, violin, viola da gamba or cello and continuo. Only six of the quartets, the Nouveaux quatuors of 1738, were published during the composer’s eight-month visit to Paris; the other six, issued by him at Hamburg in 1730 as the Quadri, are Parisian only insofar as they were reissued by the Le Clerc firm in an unauthorized print of 1736–7. Putting a halt to such pirated editions was presumably among the reasons Telemann accepted an invitation from several unnamed virtuosos to visit the French capital. As a group, the twelve quartets represent the genre’s apex, featuring brilliant writing for the three obbligato instruments and suave mixtures of the French and Italian styles along with a healthy dash of Teutonic counterpoint. They have been well served by recordings, and the past two decades have seen complete sets released by Trio Sonnerie with Wilbert Hazelzet (1991–5), the Kuijken brothers with Gustav Leonhardt (1997), Florilegium (1999–2005) and Musica ad Rhenum (2008). Additionally, there have been recordings of all the Quadri by the Boston Museum Trio with Christopher Krueger (1995) and by the Freiburger BarockConsort (2003); and a complete recording of the Nouveaux quatuors by the Tokyo Baroque Trio with Masahiro Arita (1993).
