Copenhagen
Trinitatis Church
Artists
/David van Laar - counter tenor
/Joachim Becerra Thomsen - flute
/Bolette Roed - recorder
/LUX vocal ensemble under the direction of Fredrik Malmberg
/Arte dei Suonatori
About the Program
“Celebration of friendship: Handel-Telemann”
The friendship between Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759) and Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) remains one of the most remarkable in baroque music. They met as teenagers and, despite pursuing careers in different cities—Handel in London and Telemann in Hamburg—their bond endured for over half a century. While history has favored Handel’s legacy, Telemann was considered the most significant German composer of his time, and his music is now experiencing a well-deserved revival. This concert offers a fitting tribute to these two towering figures of their era.
The depth of their relationship is evident not only in their extensive correspondence but also in their mutual respect for each other’s work. Handel subscribed to Telemann’s highly successful Tafelmusik publication, drawing inspiration from it on multiple occasions—an act viewed as a mark of admiration and esteem in their time. Telemann, in turn, produced several of Handel’s operas during his tenure as music director of the Hamburg Opera. Both were astute entrepreneurs who understood the importance of catering to their audiences, blending their musical talents with a sharp business sense. Their cosmopolitan musical language placed them at the crossroads of the baroque and early classical styles, reflecting the evolving tastes of their contemporaries.
Baroque music is essentially the art of rhetoric, communication, and dialogue—not just among musicians, but also between composers, performers, and audiences. Its ultimate aim is to move the listener, and this is something that both Handel and Telemann mastered with remarkable skill, combining baroque techniques and virtuosity with moments of such elegance and balance that recall later galant ideas of beauty.
The first part of the concert opens with an instrumental overture composed by a young Händel for one of his rare Italian oratorios—essentially operas on sacred themes but without staging. This overture is followed by three solo concertos, a genre that beautifully showcases the interplay between soloist -or soloists- and orchestra. These works alternate between slow, lyrical, expressive movements where the orchestra provides the soloists a supportive foundation and spirited, dynamic sections that bring their musical dialogue to life.
Telemann’s Concerto in G major, TWV 51:G2, is a brilliant showcase of his ability to engage and delight listeners. The music is elegant, balanced, and effortlessly flowing—yet it demands great virtuosity. Within its seemingly simple framework, Telemann masterfully weaves moments of melodic and harmonic surprise, along with a rich display of baroque rhetorical expression, especially in the slow movements. Through works like this, he elevated the recorder to an unprecedented status, revealing its remarkable expressive depth and technical sophistication.
Händel’s Sonata a cinque HWV 288, here arranged for recorder—a common practice in the Baroque period—was originally composed in Italy around 1707, likely for Corelli in Rome. Although labeled as a sonata, it belongs also the realm of the instrumental concerto. This is Handel’s earliest known concerto and the only one written for a string instrument, and it offers a compelling glimpse into his early engagement with the Italian style. In just three movements, Händel presents a more solemn and weighty take on the concerto form, reflecting his deep admiration for Italian music. The opening Adagio unfolds with stately, measured phrases before unexpectedly shifting, alternating between moments of grandeur and sharper, more daring harmonic and melodic figures reminiscent of the most experimental aspects of the Baroque sonata. The orchestra plays a prominent role in the brief second Adagio, using harmonic shifts to evoke contrasting emotions before the soloist emerges, almost improvisational, to bridge the transition. The final movement, introduced by an orchestral unison reminiscent of Vivaldi, builds toward a triumphant conclusion where the soloist displays dazzling virtuosity.
Before the break, Telemann’s Double Concerto in E minor for recorder and flute (TWV 52:e1) brings back the elegance and charm of his writing. The two soloists engage in a captivating interplay—at times supported by the orchestra, at others playfully conversing with it. The slow movements are filled with an intense sweetness, while the fast movements burst with rhythmic vitality. And, true to Telemann’s style, this concerto holds a few surprises along the way.
The program concludes with Handel’s Dixit Dominus (HWV 232), composed during his youthful years in Italy. Written at just 22, the piece already displays his command of counterpoint, expressive melodic writing, and Corelli-inspired instrumental textures. Handel embraces a brilliant concerto style, juxtaposing the five solo voices against the full choir and alternating virtuosic choral passages with lyrical solos and fiery orchestral interjections. Dixit Dominus merges the grandeur of the Italian concerto with echoes of German instrumental and choral traditions of the seventeenth century. The text—Psalm 110, a proclamation of divine judgment—provides the perfect canvas for the dramatic flair of early eighteenth-century Roman sacred music.
