Search - Telemann, John Butt :: Keyboard Fantasias

Perhaps the ultimate musical self-starter and self-promoter, the astoundingly prolific Georg Philipp Telemann, who would write upwards of 1,000 cantatas and earn more money than the chagrined J.S. Bach, produced relatively little for the keyboard--probably because he couldn't find the time to devote to such intimate, low-profile music. These 20 keyboard fantasias nevertheless encapsulate Telemann's style, often described as a kind of superficial note spinning but at least as immediately attractive as that of, say, his contemporary Heinichen or Zelenka. In fact, the pieces are danceable, robust, and even rhythmically complex, shifting from the poised, gallant French mode to the showy, songlike Italian mode (both popular, and in contention, at the time) without kicking up too much wig powder. Englishman John Butt plays these fantasias, typically structured as fast-slow-fast, on a couple period harpsichords, with considerable drive, pushing some of the prestos and vivaces to the breaking point, tossing them off almost as quickly as Telemann wrote them. Harmonia Mundi even attempts to preserve something of the recommended performance order--a fast movement from one "dozen" paired with a slower movement from another, and then repeated--by carefully sequencing the tracks. And the sonics, as usual for this label, are immaculate. Anyone who loves baroque keyboard music should add this title to his or her collection. --Robert Burns Neveldine