Telemann's Fantasias for Flute Solo are notable for their concentration, with each averaging four minutes, during which the composer paints a portrait of a key, such as F sharp minor.
Historical Context
During the Baroque period in northern Germany, the characteristics of musical keys were studied with fascination, as knowledge of these was necessary to convey or understand the emotional expression of a piece.
Composition History
The twelve fantasias by Telemann on this album are preserved in a puzzling, primitively printed edition, where the composer's name was added by hand and the pieces were originally intended for violin.
Performer Biography
Dan Laurin, the recorder soloist on this album, is a professor of recorder at Bremen and a Dozent at the Fiinen Academy of Music, also giving courses on Baroque musical rhetoric and modern music interpretation.
Composer Biography
Telemann realized the importance of printing and distributing his own music to retain all revenue and combat pirate copies, using his ingenuity and work capacity to spread his music across Europe.
Composer Biography
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a composer, worked for almost thirty years for Frederick the Great, a talented flautist, but earned only a fraction of what other musicians at court received.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Georg Philipp Telemann, a composer, used the 'fantasia' form to experiment with and broaden musical expression beyond the prevalent, more restricted forms of his time.
