One of the most prolific and perhaps the most important German of the first half of the 18th century was Georg Philipp Telemann. He was an innovator, adept in the new and popular galant style; he concerned himself with public concert life, music publishing, music pedagogy, music theory, as well as composing a vast number of diverse compositions. He threw himself and his talents energetically into every situation, even as he grew older. Though many of his compositions have been lost, we find attributed to him about 1700 church cantatas (compared with a few hundred of J. S. Bach), over 50 Passions, 50-odd operas, about 125 orchestral suites, the same number of concertos, a few hundred keyboard works, and several hundred pieces we'd label as chamber music. There are so many instrumental pieces, in fact, that the cataloguers of his works have simply grouped them by the number of musical lines and then by key. Much of this music is very good, and all together it demonstrates Telemann's command of theatrical, church and chamber styles, of French and Italian and mixed German styles -- embracing what Telemann called Polish elements -- and of learned and popular styles.
Telemann was born into an upper-class family. His early music education was merely a few singing lessons and about two weeks of keyboard lessons. Further training was denied him when it became clear that he had musical talent, for his mother feared he would take up a career in music. She was right. When Telemann went off to school and subsequently to university, his talents were uncovered by fellow students and professors. He taught himself to compose, and eventually to play recorder, flute, oboe, violin, zither, and other instruments. He sang, too, occasionally on the stage. He furnished music for churches, schools and opera houses. As if this weren't sufficiently time-and energy-consuming, he graduated third in his law school class at Leipzig University.
In 1702, Telemann assumed his first professional position. Over the years, his jobs would carry him from Poland to Eisenach, where he met Bach, and from Frankfurt to Hamburg. He visited Paris but didn't otherwise travel very far. He counted many renowned composers among his friends, including Handel, whom he'd met in his youth and with whom he remained in touch until Handel's death, eight years before his own. In addition to all his musical activities, he found time to write German poetry, to advertise, engrave and publish his own music, and, after his retirement in the 1740s, to garden with exotic plants. He even raised a grandson alone after his own son died.
In keeping with the fashion of his day, Telemann's style is rich with invention and character as it embraces many styles, colors and influences with an ease that gives his music its special charm. For no sooner have you settled into one character than you are transported gracefully away to another.
-- Kendall Durelle Briggs
