Telemann: "Paris Quartet No. 6": I. Prélude. Gaiement | The London Handel Players

Georg Philipp Telemann(1681–1767) was—to characterize him in contemporary terms—a workaholic, thanks to which we have, amongst his 3,000-plus works, his two sets of marvellously rich Paris Quartets. SOMM Recordings is pleased to release TELEMANN Paris Quartets Volume 1: 6 Quadri, featuring leading period-instrument specialists from The London Handel Players, praised by the New York Times for their “soulful depth” and their “consummate skill and musicianship.

Available 14 March 2025: https://listn.fm/telemannparis1/

At the height of his phenomenal productivity, Telemann held the positions of Kantor at the Johanneum Lateinschule in Hamburg; Kapellmeister to the five largest churches in the city; and Director of the Hamburg Opera. He also had obligations to the courts in Eisenach and Bayreuth. As if that wasn’t enough, he embarked on an ambitious project of self-publication of his works. Amongst these were Quartets for violin, flute, viola da gamba or cello, and continuo; divided into 2. Concertos, 2. Ballets, 2. Sonatas.

The first set of quartets, or quadri, was published in Hamburg – certainly by 1730 though the exact date is unknown – and such was their popularity that they were republished in Paris by Le Clerc in 1736 without Telemann’s permission. It would seem that this prompted him to make a long-awaited visit to the French capital where he stayed for eight months in 1737–38. While there, he composed a second glorious set of quartets, naming his two collections Quadri and Nouveaux Quatuors. In the latter part of the 20th century, the editors of the Telemann Musikalische Werke titled the two sets collectively as The Paris Quartets, by which name we still know them.