Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was a German composer and a contemporary of Bach. His Concerto in E minor for Flute and Recorder, TWV 52: e1 written around 1712-1721.

I found fascinating to listen the combination of these two timber instruments which blended beautifully. It makes this piece unique and gives the classical sound a folky pastoral element. This concerto has four uniquely contrasting movements.

The first movement is a Largo where the two solo instruments taking turns carrying the melody first in a craving mood and slow tempo than they are moving on to arpeggiated figures and a call and response section. The strings and the basso continuo play the accompaniment with a slow and drawn out pulses.

The second movement is an Allegro. Both the strings and the two soloists play thrilling and quickly rotating figures which gives a bright and cheerful mood to the piece. The strings act as commentators of the action.

The third movement is in Largo again but this time the piece has a more pastoral feeling and it is mainly in a major mode. The melodies are contrapuntal with interplay between the two solo instruments and the accompaniment plays in pizzicato. In the last few bars, the continuo plays some figures while the strings and the flute are holding long chords.

The fourth and final movement is a Presto and it feels like a dance. It starts with a unison which gives a strong emphasis to the piece. This unison doubled at the octave before the first solo melody joins in playing dense quaver figures which followed by some imitation with a “round” like structure. The all piece than repeated more forcefully and louder dynamic. There is some melodic development before the last repetition of the piece which is more accented and faster in tempo.

I really enjoyed listening this beautiful and easy piece which represented the composer ability to being able to adapt different styles and traditions into his music very well.

Reference:

Telemann, G., 2016. G.Ph. Telemann: Concerto For Traverso And Recorder In E Minor, TWV 52:E1 – Bremer Barockorchester. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D-y2kJU0lg&gt; [Accessed 18 May 2020]

Bergmann, W., 2020. Georg Philipp Telemann | German Composer. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georg-Philipp-Telemann&gt; [Accessed 18 May 2020]