Violin Solo
Violin + ...
For beginners
Composers

Georg Philipp Telemann

All Compositions

Compositions for: Violin

#Arrangements for: Violin
#Parts for: Violin
by alphabet
4 Concerti for 4 Violins, TWV 40:201-20412 Fantasias for Solo Violin18 Canons Mélodieux, TWV 40:118-123TafelmusikTrio Sonata, TWV 42:a412 Sonate MetodicheSonata for Flute and Violin, TWV 40:111Sonates sans basseDer getreue Music-MeisterKleine KammermusikRecorder Sonata, TWV 41:a4Quartetto, TWV 43:G2Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:G10 'Burlesque de Quixotte'Nouvelles sonatines6 QuadriConcerto à 4, TWV 43:G66 Sonatas, TWV 40:124-12912 Quadri 'Paris Quartets'Intrada-Suite for 2 Violins 'Gulliver's Travels', TWV 40:108Violin Sonata, TWV 41:F4Trio Sonata, TWV 42:a1Concerto for Flute and 2 Violins, TWV 51:AnhG1Trio Sonata, TWV 42:d10Trio Sonata, TWV 42:g5Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:C3Quartetto, TWV 43:a1Suite à 4, TWV 43:e4Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D9Concerto for Flute, Violin and Cello, TWV 53:A2Violin Sonata, TWV 41:A6Trio Sonata, TWV 42:A2Concerto à 4, TWV 43:a3Concerto à 4, TWV 43:D4Sonata à 4, TWV 43:e2Concerto for 3 Violins, TWV 53:F1Nouveaux quatuors en six suitesTrio Sonata, TWV 42:E4Sonata à 4, TWV 43:F1Concerto à 3, TWV 43:A7Sonata à 4, TWV 43:A1Concerto for 4 Violins, TWV 54:A1Concerto à 7 in A minor, TWV 44:42Essercizii musiciConcerto à 4, TWV 43:g4Concerto polonois, TWV 43:G7Suite for Oboe and Continuo, TWV 41:g4Concerto à 4, TWV 43:G1Concerto for 2 Flutes, Oboe and Violin, TWV 54:B1Trio Sonata, TWV 42:Es1Concerto for Violin, Cello, Trumpet and Strings, TWV 53:D5Concerto for 2 Trombe selvatiche and 2 Violins, TWV 54:Es1Sonaten und SpielstückeSonata in D major, TWV 44:1Trio Sonata, TWV 42:F8Ich weiß, daß mein Erlöser lebt , TWV 1:877Concerto for Violin and 3 Horns, TWV 54:D2Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:a2Violin Concerto, TWV 51:B2Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:h3Concerto à 7 in F major, TWV 44:41Trio Sonata, TWV 42:e7Sinfonia à 4, TWV 43:A6Sonata à 4, TWV 43:g2Oboe Sonata, TWV 41:B6Ach ewiges Wort, in Herz und Munde, TWV 1:9Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:F11 'Alster-Ouvertüre'Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D15Trio Sonata, TWV 42:d26 Sonates à violon seul accompagné par le clavessinMethodical Sonata, TWV 41:g3Trio Sonata, TWV 42:A9Violin Sonata, TWV 41:A4Trio Sonata, TWV 42:a5Trio Sonata, TWV 42:B1Concerto for 2 Flutes and Calchedon, TWV 53:D1Trio Sonata, TWV 42:G3Trio Sonata, TWV 42:e1Sonata à 4, TWV 43:d3Violin Sonata, TWV 41:F3Jauchzet, frohlocket! der Himmel ist offen, TWV 1:953Concerto for 2 Violins, TWV 52:C2Weg mit Sodoms gift'gen Früchten, TWV 1:1534Trio Sonata, TWV 42:f2Violin Concerto, TWV 51:g1Laudate Jehovam, TWV 7:25Concerto di Camera, TWV 43:g3Suite à 4, TWV 43:e1Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D4Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:A3Sonata à 4, TWV 43:C1Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:e2Concerto à 4, TWV 43:D1Trio Sonata, TWV 42:F1Beglückte Zeit, die uns des Wortes Licht, TWV 1:118Concerto for 3 Oboes, 3 Violins and Continuo, TWV 44:43Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:G4Sonata à 4, TWV 43:F2Suite à 4, TWV 43:h1Concerto for Oboe and Violin, TWV 52:F2Violin Sonata, TWV 41:A7Concerto for 2 Violins, TWV 52:G1Sonata à 4, TWV 43:G11Trio Sonata, TWV 42:g1Sonata à 5 in F major, TWV 44:11Oboe Concerto, TWV 51:D5Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:d2Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:D3Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:g7Concerto for 2 Violins, TWV 52:e4Trio Sonata, TWV 42:g14Trio Sonata, TWV 42:F13Violin Concerto, TWV 51:F4Hirt und Bischof unsrer Seelen, TWV 1:80512 Solos à violon ou traversiere avec la basse chiffréeViolin Sonata, TWV 41:fis2Sonata à 4, TWV 43:g1Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:B5Trio Sonata, TWV 42:e8Violin Concerto, TWV 51:G46 Sonates corellisantesSonata à 6 in F minor, TWV 44:32Trio Sonata, TWV 42:A8Concerto for 2 Flutes and Violin, TWV 53:e1Quartetto, TWV 43:B2Violin Sonata, TWV 41:e4Trietto No.1, TWV 42:G2Nach Finsternis und Todesschatten, TWV 1:1150Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:D14O hører, I ører, I folk som langt borteScherzo No.1, TWV 42:A1Partita No.2, TWV 41:G2Trio Sonata, TWV 42:h7Packe dich, gelähmter Drache, TWV 1:1222Trio Sonata, TWV 42:e12Concerto for 2 Flutes, Violin and Cello, TWV 54:D1Violin Concerto, TWV 51:G6Concerto for 2 Violins and Bassoon, TWV 53:D4Sonata à 4, TWV 43:G9Trio Sonata, TWV 42:g12Sonata à 6 in G minor, TWV 44:33Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:h4Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:A4Methodical Sonata, TWV 41:E5Suite à 4, TWV 43:h2Concerto à 4, TWV 43:d2Pyrmonter KurwocheTrietto No.2, TWV 42:D2Lieder und ArienSuite à 4, TWV 43:a2Trio Sonata, TWV 42:B5Unverzagt in allem Leide, TWV 1:1456Siehe, das ist Gottes Lamm, TWV 1:1318Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D11Violin Concerto, TWV 51:G8Concerto for 2 Violins, TWV 52:B2Sonata à 6 in B-flat major, TWV 44:34Violin Concerto, TWV 51:D9Der mit Sünden beleidigte Heiland, TWV 1:306Trio Sonata, TWV 42:d6Violin Sonata, TWV 41:C6Trio Sonata, TWV 42:h6Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:F13Partita No.1, TWV 41:B1Suite à 4, TWV 43:D3Trio Sonata, TWV 42:A10Quartetto, TWV 43:D5Musikalisches Lob GottesViolin Concerto, TWV 51:A3Trio Sonata, TWV 42:F4Ach Gott! Wie beugt der Eltern herzegeliebter Kinder, TWV 1:15aHier finde ich ein unvergleichlich StückeViolin Concerto, TWV 51:A4Violin Concerto, TWV 51:G5Violin Sonata, TWV 41:fis1Oboe Sonata, TWV 41:e6Göttlichs Kind, laß, mit Entzücken, TWV 1:632aScherzo No.2, TWV 42:E1Parti mi lasci, ah quali mi lasci, TWV 20:61Trio Sonata, TWV 42:F10Trio Sonata, TWV 42:A11Violin Concerto, TWV 51:C2Violin Sonata, TWV 41:a5Suite à 4, TWV 43:G4Suite à 4, TWV 43:A3Trio Sonata, TWV 42:B6Trio Sonata, TWV 42:E6Trio Sonata, TWV 42:g10Trio Sonata, TWV 42:e10Gott weiß, ich bin von Seufzen müde, TWV 1:689aViolin Concerto, TWV 51:G7Violin Concerto, TWV 51:D10Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:G6Ach Not! Wenn Gottes Hand, TWV 1:30Violin Concerto, TWV 51:B1Stille die Tränen des winselnden Armen, TWV 1:1401Klingende GeographieConcerto à 4, TWV 43:E2Trio Sonata, TWV 42:e11Partita No.3, TWV 41:c1Gott will Mensch und sterblich werden, TWV 1:694Concerto à 4, TWV 43:A5Ich hebe meine Augen auf zu den Bergen, TWV 7:17Deines neuen Bundes Gnade, TWV 1:212Meine Seel' erhebt den Herrn, TWV 1:1107Ergeuß dich zur Salbung der schmachtenden Seele, TWV 1:447Trio Sonata, TWV 42:h5Zürne nur, du alte Schlange, TWV 1:1735aBeweget euch munter, TWV 1:125bErquickendes Wunder der ewigen Gnade, TWV 1:469Schmückt das frohe Fest mit Maien, TWV 1:1256Daß Herz und Sinn, o schwacher Mensch, TWV 1:194Jauchzt, ihr Christen, seid vergnügt, TWV 1:955Ich will den Kreuzweg gerne gehen, TWV 1:884Liebe, die vom Himmel stammet, TWV 1:1044Den Christen mischt Christus, durch heilig's Verstellen, TWV 1:219bZerknirsche du mein blödes Herze, TWV 1:1727bErwachet zum Kriegen, TWV 1:481Violin Concerto, TWV 51:F2Die Kinder des Höchsten sind rufende Stimmen, TWV 1:349Violin Concerto, TWV 51:F3Die Ehre des herrlichen Schöpfers zu melden, TWV 1:3343 Trietti methodichi e 3 ScherziDich, den meine Seele liebet, TWV 1:328Alter Adam, du mußt sterben, TWV 1:90aIch schaue bloß auf Gottes Güte, TWV 1:859Du fährest mit Jauchzen, TWV 1:387Trio Sonata, TWV 42:E5Die Bosheit dreht das schnellste Rad, TWV 1:331Violin Concerto, TWV 51:fis1Die Glut des Zorns, das Feuer der Rache, TWV 1:338aHalt ein mit deinem Wetterstrahle, TWV 1:7156 Suonatine per violino e cembaloEin seliges Kind Gottes, TWV 1:431aDer himmlischen Geister unzählbare Menge, TWV 1:298Fleuch der Lüste Zauberauen, TWV 1:550Violin Sonata, TWV 41:g9Glaubet, hoffet, leidet, duldet, TWV 1:626Des wütenden Meeres betäubendes Brausen, TWV 1:327aIch seh' euch fast mit bittern Tränen, TWV 1:862aEin zartes Kind hat nirgends größ're Lust, TWV 1:436Triumphierender Versöhner, TWV 1:1422Erwachet, entreißt euch den sündlichen Träumen, TWV 1:480Unbegreiflich ist dein Wesen, TWV 1:1745Es fähret Jesus auf mit Jauchzen, TWV 1:489Die stärkende Wirknung des Geistes, TWV 1:363Ein lispelnd-murmelndes Gedränge, TWV 1:427Wer ist, der dort von Edom kömmt, TWV 1:1584Ihr seligen Stunden erquickender Freude, TWV 1:917Weicht, ihr Sünden, bleibt dahinten, TWV 1:1538Hochselige Blicke, voll heilige Wonne, TWV 1:805aWeide mich auf grünen Auen, TWV 1:1539aJesus kömmt: ihr Teufel fliehet, TWV 1:981aErwacht aus euren Sorgen-Schlummer, TWV 1:481aDer Regen Gottes trieft auf gute Sprossen, TWV 1:312Gottlob, die Frucht hat sich gezeiget, TWV 1:670Ihr, deren Leben mit banger Finsternis umgeben, TWV 1:897Wie? Kehren sich, bei Jesus Krippen, TWV 1:1625Wer zweifelt, daß man unser Herze verzagt, TWV 1:1615Ist Wiederwärtigkeit den Frommen eigen, TWV 1:948Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn, TWV 1:1108O schnöde Wollust dieser Erde, TWV 1:1210bSanftmutsvolle, zarte Triebe, TWV 1:1235aSo grausam mächtig ist der Teufel, TWV 1:1357aAch Herr strafe mich nicht, TWV 7:1Euch, wackelhafte Hoffartsberge, TWV 1:544aHerr! Schau! Die Seele steht dir offen, TWV 1:766aViolin Sonata, TWV 41:d3Was ist das Herz? Ein finst'rer Ort, TWV 1:1516Jetzt geht der Lebensfürst zum Tode, TWV 1:989Es klinget oft, kläglich nach, TWV 1:518aHerr, schau doch meine matte Seele, TWV 1:767Viel Tausend sind, TWV 1:1479Ihr Wölfe, droht mit euren Klauen, TWV 1:924Nach ausgelöschtem Feindschaftsfeuer, TWV 1:1147Zeug, ohn Verzug, in deinen Nöten, TWV 1:1728Zirkelkanon, TWV 40:A103Verdammet, fluchet, ihr Gesetze, TWV 1:1463Was zeigen freche Höllenkinder, TWV 1:1533aAmen. Lob und Ehre und Weisheit, TWV 1:91Ihr schüchternen Blicke beharrlischer Sünder, TWV 1:912Gib auch den Göttern dieser Erden, TWV 1:620Also hat Gott die Welt geliebet, TWV 1:82Schau Seele! Jesus geht zum Vater, TWV 1:1244Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, TWV 1:1060Jauchzet, ihr Himmel, TWV 1:957Jesus Christus ist kommen, TWV 1:975Dies ist der Tag, den der Herr macht, TWV 1:359Und das Wort ward Fleisch, TWV 1:1431Der Herr ist mein Hirte, TWV 1:268Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christum, TWV 1:717Ich habe Lust abzuscheiden, TWV 1:836Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, TWV 1:1628Die ihm vertrauen, die erfahren, TWV 1:348Ich bin arm und elend, TWV 1:814Der Herr kennet die Tage der Frommen, TWV 1:281Ja, selig sind, die Gottes Wort hören, TWV 1:949Schmecket und sehet, wie freundlich der Herr ist, TWV 1:1250Seid nüchtern und wachet, TWV 1:1278Violin Sonata, TWV 41:E1Aus Gnaden seid ihr selig worden, TWV 1:113Gott unser Heiland will, TWV 1:686Selig sind, die zum Abendmahl des Lammes, TWV 1:1308Der Segen des Herrn machet reich ohne Mühe, TWV 1:316Wir wissen, daß denen, die Gott lieben, TWV 1:1682Wende dich zu mir, TWV 1:1550Das ist die Freudigkeit, TWV 1:178Ihr Gerechten, freuet euch des Herrn, TWV 1:901Er hat alles wohl gemacht, TWV 1:452Gedenke doch, wie ich so elend und verlassen, TWV 1:583Und siehe, eine Stimme aus den Wolken, TWV 1:1437Ich halte es dafür, TWV 1:841Meine Augen sehen stets zu dem Herrn, TWV 1:1093So lasset uns nur nicht schlafen, TWV 1:1364Lehre uns bedenken, daß wir sterben müssen, TWV 1:1043Ohne Glauben ists unmöglich, TWV 1:1199Freuet euch, die ihr mit Christo leidet, TWV 1:557So wir denn nun haben, lieben Brüder, TWV 1:1387Unser keiner lebet ihm selber, TWV 1:1443Wachset in der Gnade, TWV 1:1491Suchet den Herrn, weil er zu finden ist, TWV 1:1405Ich hoffe darauf, daß du so gnädig bist, TWV 1:848Es ist dir gesagt, TWV 1:497Lehre uns bedenken, daß wir sterben müssen, TWV 1:1042Trachtet am ersten nach dem Reich Gottes, TWV 1:1412Gott wird geben einem jeglichen nach seinen Werken, TWV 1:696Unser Trost ist der, TWV 1:1445Das sollt du wissen, daß in den letzten Tagen, TWV 1:195Wer der Barmherzigkeit und Güte nachjaget, TWV 1:1578Die Hauptsumma des Gebots ist, TWV 1:347Ihr Lieben, glaubet nicht einem jeglichen Geist, TWV 1:908Seid dankbar in allen Dingen, TWV 1:1269Sie verachten das Gesetz des Herrn, TWV 1:1339Was Gott im Himmel will, TWV 1:1512Wenn mir angst ist, TWV 1:1567Wer sich rächet, an dem wird sich der Herr wieder rächen, TWV 1:1601Wenn du deine Gabe auf dem Altar opferst, TWV 1:1557Wir müssen alle offenbar werden, TWV 1:1672Me miserum miseriarum, TWV 1:113512 Marches héroiques 'Heldenmusik', TWV 50:31-426 Concerts et 6 Suites6 Moralische Kantaten, TWV 20:29-346 Quatuors ou Trios6 Trio SonatasConcerto for 2 Violins, TWV 52:A2Concerto for 2 Violins, TWV 52:D3Concerto for 2 Violins, TWV 52:G2Concerto for Flute, Harpsichord and Continuo, TWV 42:D6Concerto for Oboe and Violin, TWV 52:c1Concerto for Violin and 2 Oboes, TWV 53:e2Concerto for Violin, Horn, Cello and Continuo, TWV 43:F6Concerto à 4, TWV 43:A4Concerto à 4, TWV 43:B1Concerto à 4, TWV 43:e5Concerto à 4, TWV 43:Es1Concerto à 4, TWV 43:G8Ouverture à 5 in F major, TWV 44:7Ouverture à 5 in F major, TWV 44:8Partita No.4, TWV 41:g2Partita No.5, TWV 41:e1Partita No.6, TWV 41:Es1Quartetto, TWV 43:D6Quartetto, TWV 43:G5Solos for a Violin with a Thorough BassSonata à 4 in A major, TWV 40:200Sonata à 4, TWV 43:a5Sonata à 4, TWV 43:F3Sonata à 4, TWV 43:F4Sonata à 4, TWV 43:F5Sonata à 5 in E minor, TWV 44:5Suite in D majorTrio Sonata in E minorTrio Sonata, TWV 42:A12Trio Sonata, TWV 42:A13Trio Sonata, TWV 42:C3Trio Sonata, TWV 42:c4Trio Sonata, TWV 42:c8Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D1Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D12Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D13Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D14Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D16Trio Sonata, TWV 42:d8Trio Sonata, TWV 42:e9Trio Sonata, TWV 42:F11Trio Sonata, TWV 42:F12Trio Sonata, TWV 42:G11Trio Sonata, TWV 42:g13Trio Sonata, TWV 42:G9Violin Concerto, TWV 51:a1Violin Concerto, TWV 51:a2Violin Concerto, TWV 51:C3Violin Concerto, TWV 51:E2Violin Concerto, TWV 51:E3Violin Concerto, TWV 51:h2Violin Sonata, TWV 41:a1Violin Sonata, TWV 41:A2Violin Sonata, TWV 41:g8Weiche Lust und Fröhlichkeit, TWV 1:1536Wollen wir nicht eins musiciren?

Arrangements for: Violin

36 Fantaisies pour le clavessin, TWV 33:1-36Sonata for Flute and Violin, TWV 40:111Sonates sans basseOboe Sonata, TWV 41:a3Concerto à 4, TWV 43:G6Fugues légères & petits jeux, TWV 30:21-26Concerto for 3 Trumpets and Timpani, TWV 54:D3Sonata à 4, TWV 43:A1Trio Sonata, TWV 42:Es1Concerto for Violin, Cello, Trumpet and Strings, TWV 53:D5Suite à 4, TWV 43:e1Suite à 4, TWV 43:h1Sonata à 4, TWV 43:g1Sonata à 4, TWV 43:G9Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:Es2Trio Sonata, TWV 42:G8Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:a6Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:B13Violin Sonata, TWV 41:E16 Concerts et 6 SuitesConcerto, TWV 54:F1Trio Sonata in E minorViolin Sonata, TWV 41:a1Violin Sonata, TWV 41:g8

Parts for: Violin

Viola Concerto in G majorConcerto for Two ViolasConcerto for Recorder and Flute, TWV 52:e1Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:G10 'Burlesque de Quixotte'Trumpet Concerto, TWV 51:D7Concerto for Recorder and Viola da Gamba, TWV 52:a1Water MusicConcerto for 2 Recorders, TWV 52:a2Concerto for 2 Chalumeaux, TWV 52:d1Concerto for 2 Horns, TWV 52:D2Concerto for 2 Flutes, TWV 52:e2Concerto for 3 Violins, TWV 53:F1Concerto for 3 Trumpets and Timpani, TWV 54:D3Flute Concerto, TWV 51:D1Horn Concerto, TWV 51:D8Concerto for 2 Recorders, TWV 52:B1Concerto à 3, TWV 43:A7Concerto for Flute and Violin, TWV 52:e3Concerto à 4, TWV 43:g4Oboe Concerto, TWV 51:f1Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:Es3 'La Lyra'Oboe Concerto, TWV 51:e1Concerto for Violin, Cello, Trumpet and Strings, TWV 53:D5Sonata in D major, TWV 44:1Oboe Concerto, TWV 51:c1Concerto à 7 in F major, TWV 44:41Sinfonia à 4, TWV 43:A6Concerto for 2 Oboes and Trumpet, TWV 53:D2Concerto for 2 Horns, TWV 52:Es1Concerto for 2 Recorders and 2 Oboes, TWV 54:B2Oboe Concerto, TWV 51:f2Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:B11 'La Bourse'Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:D6Concerto for Oboe d'amore, TWV 51:G3Johannes Passion, TWV 5:30Concerto for 3 Trumpets and Timpani, TWV 54:D4Concerto for Oboe and Violin, TWV 52:F2Oboe Concerto, TWV 51:D5Oboe Concerto, TWV 51:d1Concerto for 2 Violins, TWV 52:e4Violin Concerto, TWV 51:F4Violin Concerto, TWV 51:G4Concerto for 2 Oboes and Bassoon, TWV 53:d1Oboe Concerto, TWV 51:Es1Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:D14Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:D21Sinfonia Melodica in C major, TWV 50:2Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:D8Violin Concerto, TWV 51:G8Ouverture-Suite, TWV 55:B7Violin Concerto, TWV 51:D9Violin Concerto, TWV 51:C2So gehst du nun mein Jesu hin, TWV 1:1744Violin Concerto, TWV 51:B13 Trietti methodichi e 3 ScherziAch sagt mir nichts von Gold und Schätzen, TWV 1:316 Moralische Kantaten, TWV 20:17-226 Moralische Kantaten, TWV 20:29-346 Quatuors ou Trios6 Trio SonatasOuverture à 5 in F major, TWV 44:7Trio Sonata, TWV 42:D1Violin Concerto, TWV 51:a2Violin Concerto, TWV 51:C3Violin Concerto, TWV 51:h2Wider die falschen Propheten, TWV 1:908
Wikipedia
Georg Philipp Telemann (24 March [O.S. 14 March] 1681 – 25 June 1767) (German pronunciation: [ˈteːləman]) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually settled on a career in music. He held important positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach, and Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became musical director of that city's five main churches. While Telemann's career prospered, his personal life was always troubled: his first wife died less than two years after their marriage, and his second wife had extramarital affairs and accumulated a large gambling debt before leaving him.
Telemann is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving oeuvre. He was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time, and he was compared favourably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather and namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, and to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally. As part of his duties, he wrote a considerable amount of music for educating organists under his direction. This includes 48 chorale preludes and 20 small fugues (modal fugues) to accompany his chorale harmonisations for 500 hymns. His music incorporates French, Italian, and German national styles, and he was at times even influenced by Polish popular music. He remained at the forefront of all new musical tendencies, and his music stands as an important link between the late Baroque and early Classical styles. The Telemann Museum in Hamburg is dedicated to him.
Telemann was born in Magdeburg, then the capital of the Duchy of Magdeburg, Brandenburg-Prussia. His father Heinrich, deacon at the Church of the Holy Spirit (Heilige-Geist-Kirche), died when Telemann was four. The future composer received his first music lessons at 10, from a local organist, and became immensely interested in music in general, and composition in particular. Despite opposition from his mother and relatives, who forbade any musical activities, Telemann found it possible to study and composed in secret, even creating an opera at age 12.
In 1697, after studies at the Domschule in Magdeburg and at a school in Zellerfeld, Telemann was sent to the famous Gymnasium Andreanum at Hildesheim, where his musical talent flourished, supported by school authorities, including the rector himself. Telemann was becoming equally adept both at composing and performing, teaching himself flute, oboe, violin, viola da gamba, recorder, double bass, and other instruments. In 1701 he graduated from the Gymnasium and went to Leipzig to become a student at the Leipzig University, where he intended to study law. He ended up becoming a professional musician, regularly composing works for Nikolaikirche and even St. Thomas (Thomaskirche). In 1702 he became director of the municipal opera house Opernhaus auf dem Brühl, and later music director at the Neukirche. Prodigiously productive, Telemann supplied a wealth of new music for Leipzig, including several operas, one of which was his first major opera, Germanicus. However, he became engaged in a conflict with the cantor of the Thomaskirche, Johann Kuhnau. The conflict intensified when Telemann started employing numerous students for his projects, including those who were Kuhnau's, from the Thomasschule.
Telemann left Leipzig in 1705 at the age of 24, after receiving an invitation to become Kapellmeister for the court of Count Erdmann II of Promnitz at Sorau (now Żary, in Poland). His career there was cut short in early 1706 by the hostilities of the Great Northern War, and after a short period of travels he entered the service of Duke Johann Wilhelm, in Eisenach where Johann Sebastian Bach was born. He became Konzertmeister on 24 December 1708 and Secretary and Kapellmeister in August 1709. During his tenure at Eisenach, Telemann wrote a great deal of music: at least four annual cycles of church cantatas, dozens of sonatas and concertos, and other works. In 1709, he married Amalie Louise Juliane Eberlin, lady-in-waiting to the Countess of Promnitz and daughter of the musician Daniel Eberlin. Their daughter was born in January 1711. The mother died soon afterwards, leaving Telemann depressed and distraught.
After less than a year he sought another position, and moved to Frankfurt on 18 March 1712 at the age of 31 to become city music director and Kapellmeister at the Barfüßerkirche and St. Catherine's Church. In Frankfurt, he fully gained his mature personal style. Here, as in Leipzig, he was a powerful force in the city's musical life, creating music for two major churches, civic ceremonies, and various ensembles and musicians. By 1720 he had adopted the use of the da capo aria, which had been adopted by composers such as Domenico Scarlatti. Operas such as Narciso, which was brought to Frankfurt in 1719, written in the Italian idiom of composition, made a mark on Telemann's output.
On 28 August 1714, three years after his first wife had died, Telemann married his second wife, Maria Catharina Textor, daughter of a Frankfurt council clerk. They eventually had nine children together. This was a source of much personal happiness, and helped him produce compositions. Telemann continued to be extraordinarily productive and successful, even augmenting his income by working for Eisenach employers as a Kapellmeister von Haus aus, that is, regularly sending new music while not actually living in Eisenach. Telemann's first published works also appeared during the Frankfurt period. His output increased rapidly, for he fervently composed overture-suites and chamber music, most of which is unappreciated. These works included his 6 Sonatas for solo violin, known as the Frankfurt Sonatas, published in 1715. In the latter half of the Frankfurt period, he composed an innovative work, his Viola Concerto in G major, which is twice the length of his violin concertos. Also, here he composed his first choral masterpiece, his Brockes Passion, in 1716.
The composer, however, was still ambitious and wishing for a better post, so in 1721 he accepted the invitation to work in Hamburg as Kantor of the Johanneum Lateinschule, and music director of the five largest churches. Soon after arrival, Telemann encountered some opposition from church officials who found his secular music and activities to be too much of a distraction for both Telemann himself and the townsfolk. The next year, when Johann Kuhnau died and the city of Leipzig was looking for a new Thomaskantor, Telemann applied for the job and was approved, yet declined after Hamburg authorities agreed to give him a suitable raise. After another candidate, Christoph Graupner, declined, the post went to Johann Sebastian Bach.
Telemann took a few small trips outside of Germany at this time. However, later in the Hamburg period he travelled to Paris and stayed for eight months, 1737 into 1738. He heard and was impressed by Castor et Pollux, an opera by French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. From then on, he incorporated the French operatic style into his vocal works. Before then, his influence was primarily Italian and German. Apart from that, Telemann remained in Hamburg for the rest of his life. A vocal masterpiece of this period is his St Luke Passion from 1728, which is a prime example of his fully matured vocal style.
His first years there were plagued by marital troubles: his wife's infidelity, and her gambling debts, which amounted to a sum larger than Telemann's annual income. The composer was saved from bankruptcy by the efforts of his friends, and by the numerous successful music and poetry publications Telemann made during the years 1725 to 1740. By 1736 husband and wife were no longer living together because of their financial disagreements. Although still active and fulfilling the many duties of his job, Telemann became less productive in the 1740s, for he was in his 60s. He took up theoretical studies, as well as hobbies such as gardening and cultivating exotic plants, something of a fad in Hamburg at that time, and a hobby shared by Handel. Most of the music of the 1750s appears to have been parodied from earlier works. Telemann's eldest son Andreas died in 1755, and Andreas' son Georg Michael Telemann was raised by the aging composer. Troubled by health problems and failing eyesight in his last years, Telemann was still composing into the 1760s. He died on the evening of 25 June 1767 from what was recorded at the time as a "chest ailment." He was succeeded at his Hamburg post by his godson, Johann Sebastian Bach's second son Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach.
Telemann was one of the most prolific major composers of all time: his all-encompassing oeuvre comprises more than 3,000 compositions, half of which have been lost, and most of which have not been performed since the 18th century. From 1708 to 1750, Telemann composed 1,043 sacred cantatas and 600 overture-suites, and types of concertos for combinations of instruments that no other composer of the time employed. The first accurate estimate of the number of his works was provided by musicologists only during the 1980s and 1990s, when extensive thematic catalogues were published. During his lifetime and the latter half of the 18th century, Telemann was very highly regarded by colleagues and critics alike. Numerous theorists (Marpurg, Mattheson, Quantz, and Scheibe, among others) cited his works as models, and major composers such as J. S. Bach and Handel bought and studied his published works. He was immensely popular not only in Germany but also in the rest of Europe: orders for editions of Telemann's music came from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, and Spain. It was only in the early 19th century that his popularity came to a sudden halt. Most lexicographers started dismissing him as a "polygraph" who composed too many works, a Vielschreiber for whom quantity came before quality. Such views were influenced by an account of Telemann's music by Christoph Daniel Ebeling, a late-18th-century critic who in fact praised Telemann's music and made only passing critical remarks of his productivity. After the Bach revival, Telemann's works were judged as inferior to Bach's and lacking in deep religious feeling. For example, by 1911, the Encyclopædia Britannica lacked an article about Telemann, and in one of its few mentions of him referred to "the vastly inferior work of lesser composers such as Telemann" in comparison to Handel and Bach.
Particularly striking examples of such judgements were produced by noted Bach biographers Philipp Spitta and Albert Schweitzer, who criticized Telemann's cantatas and then praised works they thought were composed by Bach, but which were composed by Telemann. The last performance of a substantial work by Telemann (Der Tod Jesu) occurred in 1832, and it was not until the 20th century that his music started being performed again. 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. Today each of Telemann's works is usually given a TWV number, which stands for Telemann-Werke-Verzeichnis (Telemann Works Catalogue).
Telemann's music was one of the driving forces behind the late Baroque and the early Classical styles. Starting in the 1710s he became one of the creators and foremost exponents of the so-called German mixed style, an amalgam of German, French, Italian and Polish styles. Over the years, his music gradually changed and started incorporating more and more elements of the galant style, but he never completely adopted the ideals of the nascent Classical era: Telemann's style remained contrapuntally and harmonically complex, and already in 1751 he dismissed much contemporary music as too simplistic. Composers he influenced musically included pupils of J.S. Bach in Leipzig, such as Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach and Johann Friedrich Agricola, as well as those composers who performed under his direction in Leipzig (Christoph Graupner, Johann David Heinichen and Johann Georg Pisendel), composers of the Berlin lieder school, and finally, his numerous pupils, none of whom, however, became major composers.
Equally important for the history of music were Telemann's publishing activities. By pursuing exclusive publication rights for his works, he set one of the most important early precedents for regarding music as the intellectual property of the composer. The same attitude informed his public concerts, where Telemann would frequently perform music originally composed for ceremonies attended only by a select few members of the upper class.
Sonata da chiesa, TWV 41:g5 (for Melodic instrument – Violin, Flute or Oboe, from Der getreue Musikmeister)
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