When the greatest German composer was discussed around 1720, Johann Sebastian Bach's name was never mentioned; instead, his friend Georg Philipp Telemann's was almost always invoked. The Magdeburg native was four years older than his friends Bach and Handel. This was not the only reason he was always a step ahead of them, but also because of his inventiveness, his curiosity, and his organizational talent. As a student in Leipzig, he founded the Collegium musicum that Bach later led to national fame. He lent his childhood friend Handel his most beautiful melodies throughout his life, melodies which the Londoner from Halle generously "borrowed" from the Magdeburg composer. At 12, Telemann had composed his first opera, at 23 he had reformed the German church cantata, and at 25 he had so masterfully incorporated foreign musical styles from France, Italy, and Poland that his music became the epitome of a new style: the "mixed taste" of the German late Baroque.... Telemann was particularly fond of two forms: the French overture and the Italian trio sonata, which he often blended with each other and with other forms, such as the concerto (a “mixed taste,” indeed). The two trio sonatas in our program also contain dance movements in the style of suites and concerto movements.
The Sonata in A minor (TWV 42:a7) survives in three neatly written parts in Darmstadt—as do so many of Telemann's works. Besides the Dresden court, the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt was one of the main patrons of Telemann's chamber music—fortunately, because this is how numerous unique copies of his wonderful works were preserved. The cover of the Darmstadt parts reads "Sonata à Flauto traverso, Viola di Gamba et Cembalo," indicating that the basso continuo in this piece is to be played only on the harpsichord and not, for example, on a cello. In each of the three parts, the entire sonata fits perfectly onto two pages – another reason why Telemann's sonatas were so highly regarded: they were never too long! The four compact movements of the A minor sonatas, however, are not lacking in charm.
