Telemann: Musique de Table II


00:00 Ouverture

11:21 Conclusion

Telemann's Musique de Table is an enormous work – actually we should speak of it more as a collection – including solo concertos, trios, quartets, sonatas and full orchestral works. It was published in 1733 and comprises three parts (so-called "productions"). Here is the beginníng (ouverture) and the end (conclusion) of the second production, which is made up of 21 movements for varying groups of instruments, and a full performance of which would take more than two hours.

I feel a tremendous energy exuding from the counterpoint and the unfolding forms. Sometimes the oboe or the violin lead for longer sections, but above all I hear a feast of diologues between the different instruments and themes. The music also takes great surprises and suddenly takes exciting harmonic progressions, like the measures at 12:07, which I find wash over the listener like a tidal wave.

It is also unusual in baroque music (and very satisfying for us trumpeters) that calm passages like the one at 06:15 (I call this section "pastorale") or the expressive adagio in the Conclusion (14:06), are carried by the trumpet.

All together I hope you will enjoy these two movements as much as I do.