Telemann: The Autograph Scores - Standage, Collegium Musicum 90 (2012)

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Telemann: The Autograph Scores - Standage, Collegium Musicum 90 (2012)

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Collegium Musicum 90 was founded by Simon Standage and the late Richard Hickox in 1990, and is today a well-established ensemble for the performance of baroque and classical music, with a repertoire ranging from chamber music to large-scale works for choir and orchestra. As an exclusive Chandos artist, the ensemble has recorded more than fifty CDs for the label, which includes nine discs of instrumental music by Telemann. In recognition of the success of the Telemann series in promoting the reputation of the composer, Simon Standage was awarded the Georg-Philipp-Telemann-Preis in 2010.

The works presented here all survive in autograph scores, or have autograph connections. Today only eighteen such scores of instrumental music survive from Telemann’s long and prolific career as a composer, and nine of them are included in a collection that belonged to his grandson Georg Michael Telemann.

The Ouvertures-Suites in F major and D major, as well as the Divertimento in E flat, form part of this autograph collection, and were composed by Telemann in the 1760s when he was in his eighties, for His Highness the Landgrave of Darmstadt, Ludwig VIII. In a letter that accompanied the scores, Telemann wrote that he had given up composing due to his deteriorating eyesight, but upon reading in the newspaper of the Landgrave’s approaching name day, he ‘became filled with enthusiasm and made a draft for the enclosed works’.

The Concerto in D major belongs to an earlier period in Telemann’s life, as does the Ouverture-Suite in A major. Both these works present less of a direct link to the composer. The Concerto survives only in parts, and the personal touch by Telemann is provided by a correction in the surviving parts. The Ouverture-Suite is one of comparatively few ouvertures-suites by Telemann in which a solo instrument (in this instance, a solo violin) plays a prominent role throughout. There are currently some doubts about the authenticity of the handwriting in the score.

Composer: Georg Philipp Telemann
Conductor: Simon Standage
Orchestra/Ensemble: Collegium Musicum 90

Reviews: It seems like the Telemann fountain is flowing full force nowadays, with a number of recordings appearing like clockwork each month, and I’ve no doubt that the vast number of his compositions are very much in danger of being all recorded, that is, those that haven’t been lost. This disc brings together a selection of instrumental pieces performed by the venerable Simon Standage with the equally venerable and reputable Collegium Musicum 90, which he founded with the late Richard Hickox. Indeed, the Telemann offerings by this ensemble and its director are of such number, variety, and excellence that they were awarded the Telemann prize in 2010, an honor that shows their stature in this massive revival.


This disc does not disappoint, either, although only one of the six works presented is given its world premiere. This is the Divertimento in E?, which seems in every other way little more than a conventional suite of French dances but contains a rather nice dramatic element in the movement titles that offer something more than expected. It would seem that for someone who wrote such a tremendous amount of music, one would have scads of autographs all about, but in Telemann’s case, oddly enough, these seem to be a rarity. As few as 18 of the instrumental works exist in his own hand, nine of which are actually in a single collection written for and dedicated to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, Ludwig VIII. This disc takes three of these works, written when the composer was 86 years old in 1766, opera ultima if ever there were. The remaining three are earlier, probably closer to 1708 or so when he was Kapellmeister at Sorau in Silesia, now Poland. It is no matter, for the thread that links them is that all are in the French style, dances that alternate fast and slow in the manner of the suite. Only in the Overture-Suite in A Major (titled Concert en Ouverture ) is there a hint of a soloist, in this case a vehicle for violinist Standage to shine. More interestingly, however, is that three of the works from late in the composer’s life include a pair of horns, as well as flutes, coming close to the standard Classical-period orchestra.


Since most have been recorded before, only a few words will suffice about the works themselves. The F-Major suite is very Handelian, with exaggerated French dotted rhythms at the opening, but the harmonies momentarily veer off into strange areas, one of Telemann’s trademarks, as is the outdoorsy feel of the Allegro section with its hunting calls. In the Bourrée that follows, the horns begin this dance in their high register, adding tonal punch to the line, but in the second part, the folk-song character in the decisive rhythms makes a nice complement. The final movement is titled “The Tempest,” and the skirling strings and echoing horns entrances, not to mention a nice crescendo at the beginning of each section, is quite dramatic. In the concerto grosso, I find the opening Andante amusing, almost like Telemann is teaching his ensemble exercises, but his penchant for folk rhythms reasserts itself in the Vivace that follows. One might also note the perpetual-motion finale of the A-Major suite, with its maniacal Gigue and final unexpected cadential flourish. The Divertimento is a perfect little gem, almost a dramatic and very civilized scene that begins with a quick awakening, a mincing gavotte that evokes a conversation at the table, and a brief hunt. Here we are more in the world of early Classicism than the rather more Baroque style of the remainder of the works on the disc.


About the performances themselves, Collegium Musicum 90 is up to its usual standard of excellence. The interpretation is finely nuanced, the attention to dynamic and rhythmic contrast clear, and the intonation spot-on. This rapport is clearly something that Standage and his group have achieved over the years, and this disc only adds to an already world-class reputation. I find some nice surprises, such as the rather prominent horns in the opening movement of the F-Major overture, which I suspect may have been playing bells-up in order to achieve the bucolic sound, very different from the more refined work elsewhere. The flutes are equally clear in their performances. All around, this disc can be highly recommended, even if you have most of the works on other recordings. I would make this one your standard.