12 Fantasias for Viola da Gamba (Telemann)

Telemann printed the fantasias for viola da gamba in 1735 in his own publishing house in Hamburg.[1] He undertook self-publishing, offering works by subscription: His subscriber lists include buyers from Amsterdam, London and Paris. He offered a 20% discount to subscribers to the fantasias.[2] The fantasias are among Telemann's collections of music for unaccompanied instruments, with others being twelve fantasias for solo flute (1732/33), twelve fantasias for solo violin (1735), and thirty-six pieces for harpsichord (1732–33).[3]

Based on research by the French musicologist François-Pierre Goy,[4] the fantasias, which had been thought to be lost, were found in 2015 in an archive of the State Archive of Lower Saxony in Osnabrück.[5][6][7] The archive held a complete copy of the music printed by Telemann in 1735 in the private collection from Schloss Ledenburg, now called Ledenburg Collection.[8][7] The fantasias were published by Edition Güntersberg in 2016, with a facsimile of Telemann's print.[1] After their discovery, the fantasias were first performed by the gambist Thomas Fritzsch,[7] who is also a musicologist teaching at the Leipzig University.[9] Fritzsch played them for the first time after their rediscovery in two concerts as part of the 23rd Magdeburger Telemann-Festtage on 19 and 20 March 2016, along with a recording (made at the abbey church of Zscheiplitz)[10][11] and the presentation of the edition.[7]

This collection consists of the following works:[12]

1. Fantasia in C minor (Adagio – Allegro – Adagio – Allegro)[13][14]
2. Fantasia in D major (Vivace – Andante – Vivace Presto)
3. Fantasia in E minor (Largo – Presto – Vivace)
4. Fantasia in F major (Vivace – Grave – Allegro)
5. Fantasia in B-flat major (Allegro – Largo – Allegro)
6. Fantasia in G major (Scherzando – Dolce – Spirituoso)
7. Fantasia in G minor (Andante – Vivace – Allegro)
8. Fantasia in A major (Allegro – Vivace – Allegro)
9. Fantasia in C major (Presto – Grave – Allegro)
10. Fantasia in E major (Dolce – Allegro – Dolce – Allegro Siciliana Scherzando)
11. Fantasia in D minor (Allegro – Grave – Allegro)
12. Fantasia in E-flat major (Andante – Allegro – Vivace)

Written at a time when the instrument was no longer fashionable, Telemann had to compose with imagination to attract buyers.[15][11] A reviewer of Gramophone notes: "Telemann presents a cornucopia of broken chords, unison and contrapuntal writing, passagework and even some plucking; there’s also a nod to the fashion tussle of the time between the fugal and the galant style".[11]

The fantasias have been performed internationally after their rediscovery, especially in 2017, celebrating 250 years after the composer died.[2][12][16] The flutist Monika Mandelartz arranged the fantasias for her instrument, saying that they are "complex, musically rich pieces, albeit not immediately understandable to the performer".[17]

Jonathan Dunford recorded the fantasias in two volumes, one in April 2016,[18] the second in May that year,[19] and he played excerpts in lectures for France Musique in July 2016.[20] The fantasias were recorded by Robert Smith[21] in 2017. A reviewer of The Guardian noted the compositions' "astonishing range" in character between "infectious jollity" and "depths of despair",[22] and attest that the player "navigates each piece with clear-eyed musicality, always weaving a beautifully sonorous, coherent line through Telemann’s rich invention".[22]

Fritzsch was awarded the Echo Klassik 2017 in the category Welterstaufführung (World Premiere Recording) for his first recording of the fantasias.[23][24]

• Zadow, Günter von; Fritzsch, Thomas, eds. (2016). Telemann, Zwölf Fantasien für Viola da Gamba solo, 40:26–37, VdG, Moderne Ausgabe und Faksimile. Edition Güntersberg. ISMN 979-0-50174-281-3.

• "Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) / Twelve Fantasias for Viola da Gamba solo". Edition Güntersberg. 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
• Zohn, Steven (2001). "Georg Philipp Telemann". In Root, Deane L. (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Oxford University Press. ‎
• Heinrich, Susanne (2016). "Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) / 12 Fantasias for Solo Viola da Gamba / Edition Güntersberg, G281 (2016), Ledenburg Sammlung, with Facsimile" (PDF). The Viola da Gamba Society Journal. 10: 43–80. Retrieved 17 August 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Zadow, Günter von (2016). "The Works for Viola da Gamba in the Ledenburg Collection" (PDF). The Viola da Gamba Society Journal. 10: 43–80. Retrieved 17 August 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Zohn, Steven (2008). Music for a Mixed Taste: Style, Genre, and Meaning in Telemann's Instrumental Works. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-516977-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

• 12 Fantasias for Viol without Bass, TWV 40:26–37: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Literature by and about 12 Fantasias for Viola da Gamba (Telemann) in the German National Library catalogue