Georg Philipp Telemann: Essercisii musici facsimile with an introduction by Greta Haenen

Abstract

This facsimile edition of an important collection of works by Telemann is bound to be of interest to performers as well as scholars of eighteenth-century repertory.The eclectic nature of this volume of sonatas makes it a common resource for a wide variety of string, wind, and continuo players, particularly those who perform with ensembles whose membership and instrumentation are flexible. This variety of instrumentation is also an indication of what chamber music combinations might have been customary in Hamburg in 1740, including some which are slightly out of the ordinary. For instance, obbligato parts in the trio sonatas include pairings of viol and harpsichord (No. 2), transverse flute and harpsichord(No. 4), viol and recorder (No. 7), and oboe and harpsichord (No. 12). The inclusion of several treble parts and a complete solo sonata for harpsichord is indicative of the growing trend towards fully written out keyboard parts that is evident in the works of several north German composers of the mid 18th century.