Lorenz Duftschmid and the ensemble
Armonico Tributo Austria was originally released in 1997. Plenty of recordings have appeared since then of the ensemble genres represented. Two pieces (tracks 9-12 and 21-24) are generally known as Quadri, or quartets, although they are here respectively designated as a sonata and a concerto, and the two sonatas for gamba and continuo come from
Telemann's Essercizii musici of 1740. The rather odd Sonata in D minor for viola da gamba solo, TWV 40:1, and the opening Concerto in A minor for recorder, viola da gamba, strings, and continuo are perhaps a bit rarer. But that's not what made this recording a candidate for reissue; instead, it's
Duftschmid's conception of the music. The pieces come from various phases of
Telemann's career, and annotator Brit Reipsch speaks of the recording as reflecting "like a kaleidoscope al the variety and richness of inspiration of
Telemann's compositions for the viola da gamba," which are surprisingly numerous considering
Telemann's reputation as a progressive composer. The reason seems to be that
Telemann exhaustively explored the instrumental world of his time. Each work is in four movements in a slow-fast-slow-fast configuration, but the individual movements really are kaleidoscopic in their varitety, and
Duftschmid and
Armonico Tributo Austria do their best to bring this out with lively small-ensemble work. The stars of the show, aside from
Duftschmid himself, are the continuo players, shifting among a group of instruments that includes a second gamba, a violone, a Baroque guitar, a theorbo, a harpsichord, and a small positive organ. The variety of textures that can be generated by these, from a big, almost orchestral, sound to a minimalist favoring of the solo line goes beyond what's heard on most other period-instrument releases, and there's a question as to whether it's appropriate in a style that dealt mostly with fixed blocks of sound. The opening recorder-and-gamba concerto is the album's weakest point; the single-instrument-per-part approach in this genuine concerto results in a confused texture. But the music is never dull, and those already bitten by the
Telemann bug are likely to be intrigued all over again by this release even if it isn't really a good place to start with this music. Murky church sound remains a negative. The booklet is in Italian, English, French, and German.