Telemann

Burlesque de Quixotte; Viola da Gamba Concerto, TWV51: A5; La Bizarre; Overture, TWV55: D6 Anne Gaurier (viola da gamba); Orchestre de Chambre de Toulouse/ Gilles Colliard Calliope CAL1960 64:59 mins

Georg Philipp Telemann’s ability in deft character portrayal is just one of the virtues that inform his music and make it so engaging. In this respect, his orchestral suite Burlesque de Quixotte is unsurpassed. Cervantes’s satirical romance, depicting the fantastic adventures of the eponymous errant Knight and his squire, Sancho Panza, had by the early 18th century become one of the most widely read books of fiction in Europe. Telemann’s Suite contains skilfully-drawn vignettes which colourfully enliven selected episodes from the novel. This performance by the long established Orchestre de Chambre de Toulouse is full of vitality and joie de vivre under Gilles Colliard’s direction, but too often compromised by driven tempos – the opening overture is a regrettable example – and a dynamic range veering between forte and fortissimo. The music is inherently poised, elegant and witty, but needs greater subtlety of approach than is afforded here.

The remaining pieces fare better, though again the music sometimes feels hard-driven. The suite, La Bizarre, and the untitled Suite in D major, in which the viola da gamba has a prominent role, have been recorded several times previously and are likely to be familiar to Telemann enthusiasts. The Concerto in A major for viola da gamba, by contrast, is a rarity. It is more of a sonata, really, where the gamba is partnered by two violins and underpinned by continuo. Soloist Anne Gaurier plays with expressive warmth and commensurate virtuosity.

In summary, there is much to enjoy here, my chief reservations being concerned with the Suite from which the disc takes its title. Nicholas Anderson

PERFORMANCE ★★★

RECORDING ★★★★