Telemann in the Tavern

“I once heard thirty-six bagpipes and eight violins together. It is impossible to imagine the fantastic musical ideas they presented between dances when the dancers rested and the musicians improvised music together to fill out the time. Anyone who paid very close attention could pick up in eight days sufficient musical ideas to last a lifetime.” - Georg Philipp Telemann, 1740

Directed from the flute and recorder by Annabel Knight, Telemann in the Tavern revels in the vibrant Polish folk influences in the music of the famously multivalent composer, Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). During his early travels through Eastern Europe around 1700—including Zary (Sorau), Pszczyna (Pless), and Kraków—Telemann was inspired and invigorated by the music of rural and military musicians he heard in taverns, markets, and village gatherings. These encounters left a lasting impression on his compositional voice, particularly in his orchestral suites and concertos, where Polish rhythmic patterns, modal colours, and ornamentation appear frequently in what he calls “Italian dress”, meaning the standard Baroque alternation of slow and fast movements. Also featuring Chris Hartland on oboe and recorder and Kate Bennett Wadsworth on viola da gamba, our programme combines some of Telemann’s most popular concertos with Polish dances from the Rostock Manuscript, specially arranged for this concert by Annabel herself.