March 14, 2016. Telemann.Georg Philipp Telemann was born on this day in 1681, four years and a week before Johann Sebastian Bach. Telemann was born in Magdeburg; his family was upper-middle class, his father, who died when Telemann was four, was a deacon and university educated.Telemann started musical lessons rather late, at the age of 10, and even those were brief. His family was not supportive and young Telemann studied in secret, learning to play the recorder, violin, and zither.Upon learning that he continued studying music, his mother confiscated all his instruments.That didn’t stop Telemann from composing.He’d even sneak out of his house at night and play on borrowed instruments.When he was 13, he was sent to school in Zellerfeld, but his main teacher there was interested in music himself and in addition to general subjects introduced Telemann to the relationship between music and mathematics.In 1697 Telemann joined the old and prestigious Gymnasium Andreanum in Hildesheim.(The school was established in 1225, and the town, especially its Market square, was considered one of the most beautiful in all of Germany.It was bombed out during WWII but restored in the 1990s).His musical talents became obvious and acknowledged; the school commissioned him songs, and he also performed in local churches.He even traveled to the courts in nearby Hanover and Brunswick, where he became familiar with Italian music, Corelli and Caldara in particular.All these extracurricular activities didn’t prevent Telemann from graduating third in a class of 150.
In 1701 Telemann entered Leipzig University.Even though his intention was to study law, very soon he found himself composing and performing full time.The Mayor commissioned him to write music for two of the most prestigious churches in the city, the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche (twenty years later these churches would be filled with the of music of Bach).Telemann founded a student orchestra and one year later, in 1702, became the director of the opera house, for which he composed four operas.Johann Kuhnau, a prominent composer, was then the Cantor at the Thomaskirche, traditionally the position of the city’s music director, the one that Bach would assume in 1723.With all of Telemann’s music activities encroaching on Kuhnau’s authority, it was not long before their relationship turned acrimonious.Kuhnau was especially incensed by Telemann using students in opera productions and petitioned city fathers to stop the practice (apparently with little success).It’s interesting that Telemann wasn’t shy to acknowledge that he learned much from studying Kuhnau’s music.Also around that time, Telemann met Handel in Halle and heard an opera by Bononcini, Handel’s future rival, during a trip to Berlin.
In 1705 Telemann left Leipzig for Sorau (now in Poland), where Count Erdmann II, a great lover of music, had just returned from his travels to Italy and France.Telemann assumed the position of Kapellmeister and, to satisfy the Count’s newly acquired French taste, engaged in studying the music of Lully.His stay in Sorau was productive but not long: with the army of Swedish King Carl XII approaching, he left Sorau for Eisenach (Bach’s birthplace) and entered into the service of Duke Johann Wilhelm of Saxe-Eisenach as Kapelmeister.This is where, apparently, he met Johann Sebastian for the first time.Telemann’s output during his four years in Eisenach was prodigious: four or five cycles of church sonatas, masses, 50 cantatas, and many concertos for orchestra.This presents one of the problems with Telemann’s legacy: some of his music is of extremely high quality but it has to be searched for within his vast, ofter mediocre output.Here’s a cantata that’s definitely not: Seele, lerne dich erkennen, it was written around 1725.It’s performed by Ensemble Caprice with the soprano Monika Mauch, Matthias Maute conducting.
Telemann 2016
March 14, 2016. Telemann. Georg Philipp Telemann was born on this day in 1681, four years and a week before Johann Sebastian Bach. Telemann was born in Magdeburg; his family was upper-middle class, his father, who died when Telemann was four, was a deacon and university educated. Telemann started musical lessons rather late, at the age of 10, and even those were brief. His
family was not supportive and young Telemann studied in secret, learning to play the recorder, violin, and zither. Upon learning that he continued studying music, his mother confiscated all his instruments. That didn’t stop Telemann from composing. He’d even sneak out of his house at night and play on borrowed instruments. When he was 13, he was sent to school in Zellerfeld, but his main teacher there was interested in music himself and in addition to general subjects introduced Telemann to the relationship between music and mathematics. In 1697 Telemann joined the old and prestigious Gymnasium Andreanum in Hildesheim. (The school was established in 1225, and the town, especially its Market square, was considered one of the most beautiful in all of Germany. It was bombed out during WWII but restored in the 1990s). His musical talents became obvious and acknowledged; the school commissioned him songs, and he also performed in local churches. He even traveled to the courts in nearby Hanover and Brunswick, where he became familiar with Italian music, Corelli and Caldara in particular. All these extracurricular activities didn’t prevent Telemann from graduating third in a class of 150.
In 1701 Telemann entered Leipzig University. Even though his intention was to study law, very soon he found himself composing and performing full time. The Mayor commissioned him to write music for two of the most prestigious churches in the city, the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche (twenty years later these churches would be filled with the of music of Bach). Telemann founded a student orchestra and one year later, in 1702, became the director of the opera house, for which he composed four operas. Johann Kuhnau, a prominent composer, was then the Cantor at the Thomaskirche, traditionally the position of the city’s music director, the one that Bach would assume in 1723. With all of Telemann’s music activities encroaching on Kuhnau’s authority, it was not long before their relationship turned acrimonious. Kuhnau was especially incensed by Telemann using students in opera productions and petitioned city fathers to stop the practice (apparently with little success). It’s interesting that Telemann wasn’t shy to acknowledge that he learned much from studying Kuhnau’s music. Also around that time, Telemann met Handel in Halle and heard an opera by Bononcini, Handel’s future rival, during a trip to Berlin.
In 1705 Telemann left Leipzig for Sorau (now in Poland), where Count Erdmann II, a great lover of music, had just returned from his travels to Italy and France. Telemann assumed the position of Kapellmeister and, to satisfy the Count’s newly acquired French taste, engaged in studying the music of Lully. His stay in Sorau was productive but not long: with the army of Swedish King Carl XII approaching, he left Sorau for Eisenach (Bach’s birthplace) and entered into the service of Duke Johann Wilhelm of Saxe-Eisenach as Kapelmeister. This is where, apparently, he met Johann Sebastian for the first time. Telemann’s output during his four years in Eisenach was prodigious: four or five cycles of church sonatas, masses, 50 cantatas, and many concertos for orchestra. This presents one of the problems with Telemann’s legacy: some of his music is of extremely high quality but it has to be searched for within his vast, ofter mediocre output. Here’s a cantata that’s definitely not: Seele, lerne dich erkennen, it was written around 1725. It’s performed by Ensemble Caprice with the soprano Monika Mauch, Matthias Maute conducting.