Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (
March 14,
1681 –
June 25,
1767) was a
German Baroque music composer, born in
Magdeburg. Self-taught in music, he studied law at the
University of Leipzig. The most prolific composer of his era, he was a contemporary of
Johann Sebastian Bach and a life-long friend of
George Frideric Handel. While in the present day Bach is generally thought of as the greater composer, Telemann was more widely renowned for his musical abilities during his lifetime.
Telemann traveled widely, absorbing various musical styles and incorporating them into his own compositions. He is known for writing concertos for unusual combinations of instruments, such as multiple violas or trumpets.
He held a series of important musical positions, culminating in that of music director of the five largest churches in
Hamburg, from
1720 until his death in 1767. He was succeeded by his godson
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.
Georg Philipp Telemann was born in
Magdeburg, now
capital city of
Saxony-Anhalt, in 1681. Telemann's family was not particularly musical; his great-grandfather had served as
Cantor at
Halberstadt, but no one else in his direct family had been involved in music. Telemann's father died in
1685, leaving his mother to raise and see to the education of the children. They were an upper-middle class family, and many worked in the church. Telemann began to discover music at age 10, and quickly showed talent, composing his first
opera by age 12. But this talent was not approved of by his family. Fearing that her son would pursue a career in music, Telemann's mother confiscated all of his musical instruments and in
1693 sent him to a new school in Zellerfeld hoping that this change would put the boy on a more lucrative career path. However, the superintendent of this school approved of his talents, and Telemann continued to compose and expand his knowledge of music on his own. By the time he completed his studies at the Gymnasium Andreanum in
Hildesheim, Telemann had learned to play the
recorder,
organ,
violin,
viola da gamba,
flute,
oboe,
chalumeau,
double bass, and
bass trombone, almost entirely by himself. His travels had also exposed him to newer musical styles, and the music of
Johann Rosenmüller and
Arcangelo Corelli became early influences.
In
1701, Telemann entered the Leipzig University intending to study law, perhaps at the request of his mother. It was not long before his musical talent was found out, however, and he was commissioned to write music for two of the city's main churches. Soon thereafter, he founded a 40-member
Collegium Musicum to give concerts of his music. The next year, Telemann became the director of Leipzig's
opera house and cantor of one of its churches. His growing prominence began to anger elder composer
Johann Kuhnau, whose position as director of music for the city had been encroached upon by Telemann's appointment as a cantor. Telemann was also using many students in his opera productions, leaving them less time to devote to participation in church music for Kuhnau. Kuhnau denounced Telemann as an "opera musician". Even after Telemann's departure, Kuhnau could not regain the performers he had lost to the opera.
Telemann left
Leipzig in
1705 to become
Kapellmeister for the court of Count Erdmann II in Sorau (now Zary, Poland). Here he acquainted himself with the French style of
Lully and
Campra, composing many
overtures and
suites in his two years at the post. An invasion of Germany by Sweden, forced Count Erdmann's court to evacuate the castle. Telemann apparently visited Paris in 1707; and was later appointed as a leader of the singers at the court in Eisenbach, where he met Johann Sebastian Bach. The major position of Telemann's life was his approval of a post in
1721, as musical director of the five main churches in Hamburg, a position he would hold for the rest of his life. Here Telemann wrote two
cantatas for each Sunday, as well as other sacred music for special occasions, all while teaching singing and
music theory and directing another collegium musicum, which gave weekly or bi-weekly performances. Telemann also directed the local opera house for a few years, but this proved a financial failure.
| Telemann's signature (1714 and 1757) |
When the position Kuhnau had once held in Leipzig became vacant, Telemann applied for the position. Of the six musicians who applied, he was the favored candidate, even winning the approval of the city's council. Telemann declined the position, but only after using the offer as leverage to secure a pay raise for his position in Hamburg. When Telemann declined, the job was given to
Christoph Graupner, who also declined it, paving the way for
J.S. Bach. Telemann also augmented his Hamburg pay with a few small positions in other courts, and through publishing volumes of his own music.
Starting around
1740, Telemann's output decreased as he began to focus more energy on writing theoretical treatises. During this time he also corresponded with some younger composers, including
Franz Benda and Telemann's godson,
C.P.E. Bach. Following the death of his eldest son Andreas in
1755, Telemann assumed the responsibility of raising his grandson
Georg Michael Telemann, and beginning the future composer's education in music. Many of his sacred
oratorios date from this period. In his later years, Telemann's eyesight began to deteriorate, and this led to a decline in his output around
1762, but the composer continued to write until his death on June 25, 1767.
The
Guinness Book of World Records lists Telemann as the most prolific composer of all time with more than 800 credited works. More recent studies, for example the thematic catalogues of his works published in the 1980s and 1990s, have shown that Telemann actually wrote over 3,000 compositions, many of which are now lost. Many of the manuscripts were destroyed during World War II. It is unlikely that Telemann is the most prolific composer to date;
Simon Sechter, for one, is thought to have written over 8000 pieces.
Telemann was highly regarded during his lifetime, and for several decades afterwards; however by the first decades of the 19th century his works were performed less frequently. The last performance of a substantial work by Telemann,
Der Tod Jesu, until the 20th century, was in 1832. Indeed the 1911
Encyclopedia Britannica, which includes large articles on both
J. S. Bach and
Handel, does not mention Telemann.
The revival of interest in Telemann began in the first decades of the 20th century and culminated in the Bärenreiter critical edition of the 1950s.
Early music ensembles now commonly perform Telemann's works and numerous recordings of his music are available.
Today each of Telemann's works is usually given a TWV number. TWV stands for Telemann Werkverzeichnis (Telemann Work Catalogue). TWV is followed by a numeral, a colon, a letter and a number. The first number after TWV indicates the general type of medium, the letter after the colon is the key of the particular work, and the following number is the numbering within that type of work. For example, Telemann's
Concerto polonois in B flat major for strings and
basso continuo is TWV 43:B3. And, for another example, Telemann's
Suite in D major is TWV 55:D18.
Der Geduldige Socrates (
1721)
Der SchulmeisterDer Tod Jesu ("The Death of Jesus")
Die Donner-Ode ("The Ode of Thunder")
Die Tageszeiten ("The Times of the Day")
Der Tag des Gerichts ("The Day of Judgement")
`Sinfonia Spirituosa' in D MajorViola Concerto, the first known concerto for viola, still regularly performed today
Tafelmusik (1733) ('
Tafelmusik' refers to music meant to accompany a meal)
Der getreue Musikmeister (
1728), a musical journal containing 70 small vocal and instrumental compositions
6 Paris QuartetsHarmonischer Gottes-Dienst*
Detailed biography at baroquemusic.org*
Free scores, Cantatas
