In the middle of the 18th century, Frederick the Great spent his summers at the Sanssouci palace on the outskirts of Berlin. It was in these halls, with their large glass windows overlooking the gardens, that the Musical Offering, a set of pieces given to him by Johann Sebastian Bach, was first heard. The flute part of the Sonata sopr’il Soggetto Reale, which is an integral part, was played by the monarch himself. Georg Philipp Telemann joins him in this program. First, a trio sonata composed for the Frankfurt nobility, where he worked between 1712 and 1721. Finally, one of the six quartets that make up the first booklet of the Paris Quartets. Curiously, they were composed and published in Hamburg in 1730. However, the reception in the French capital was so enthusiastic that the composer stayed in the city for eight months, as well as reissuing the same book and publishing another six “Nouveaux quatuors”. In any case, it’s remarkable how the fusion of French and Italian styles, an essential characteristic of Telemann’s music (and Bach’s too), was so successful at the time. It still is today.
Musical Offering
Solistas da Metropolitana
G. P. Telemann Sonata in Trio, TWV 42:g1
J. S. Bach Sonata sopr’il Soggetto Reale, Trio Sonata from the Musical Offering, BWV 1079
G. P. Telemann Paris Quartet No. 6, TWV 43:e4
Janete Santos flute
Ana Pereira violin
Catarina Gonçalves cello
Sérgio Silva harpsichord
