Track Listing

1. Overture in C major~ Ouverture
2. Overture in C major~ Sarabande, Die schlafende Thetis
3. Overture in C major~Bourrée, Die erwachende Thetis
4. Overture in C major~Loure, Der verliebte Neptunus
5. Overture in C major~Gavotte. Die spielenden Najaden
6. Overture in C major~Harlequinade, Der scherzende Tritonus
7. Overture in C major~Der stürmende Aeolus
8. Overture in C major~: Menuet, Der angenehme Zephir
9. Overture in C major~Gigue, Ebbe und Flut
10. Overture in C major~Canarie, Die lustigen Bootsleute
11. Overture in B major~Andante
12. Overture in B major~Presto
13. Overture in B major~Cantabile
14. Overture in B major~Allegro
15. Overture in F major~Grave
16. Overture in f major~Vivace - attacca
17. Overture in F major~Adagio
18. Overture in F major~Allegro
19. Overture in A minor~Adagio
20. Overture in A minor~Allegro
21. Overture in A minor~Affettuoso
22. Overture in A minor~Allegro

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78746 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

a lesser known great
Telemann's Wassermusik (composed in 1723) is a highly enjoyable baroque masterpiece. The Harlequinade (track 6) is especially great, featuring a chorus of cellos over rollicking pizzicato violins. The Sarabande (track 2) is a sweet, beatuiful interlude after the bombastic overture. The exact meaning of the subtitles are unknown, but each movement carries a distinct flavor- and it is this abstract quality of instrumental music that Telemann so completely masters.

Goebel and the Musica Antiqua Koln bring so much to this music in skill, energy, feeling, and texture. The three recorder concertos show off the immense talents of the wind players, which is already apparent in the Water Music. Don't get me wrong- I'm not smashing recorders in the street- but I'm sure I'm not alone in my prejudice against this instrument (why are there so many Marion Verbruggen albums flooding the market?). These are fine works nonetheless, and for those of you who DO favor the instrument you'll enjoy this recording all the more. In any event, I've been finding a lot of surprises in Telemann's ouvre. It's no wonder he was so well regarded in his time. If you're having difficulty sifting through the scads of works by this composer, please give this CD a try. It is a perfect recording of a deeply pleasing work.

Relaxed and Transparent, Glorious Winds
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 - 1767): Overture in C major "Water Music" (or "Hamburger Ebb' und Fluth"); Concertos in B flat major, F major and A minor). Performed by Musica Antiqua Köln, directed by Reinhard Goebel. Recorded in 1984 at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg-Harburg, Germany. Published in 1984 as DG Archiv 413 788-2. Total playing time: 49'10".

Telemann's "Water Music" is very different from Handel's. Published in 1723 to celebrate the centenary of the Hamburg "Admiralty" or Port Authority, it is basically a French-style suite of dances, preceded by a lengthy "Ouverture". The only number which does not fit into this scheme is no. 7, "Der stürmende Aeolus" in which the furious stormy winds which abound in the Hamburg district are allowed to rant and rave. The dance numbers are all given headings which indicate not only their particular dance rhythm but also show that Telemann intended to paint mythological pictures with them (Thetis, Neptune, the Naiads, Triton, Aeolus and Zephyr are all names from Greek mythology and have to do with the sea and the wind, so this is all very appropriate for a celebration in the port city of Hamburg). The last two numbers are a jig in which the coming and going of the tide is portrayed and a "canarie" which depicts the merry goings-on among the boatspeople.

Musica Antiqua Köln (Cologne) give a relaxed and very transparent performance of this music which I like very much, although I have to add that the version produced by Paul Dombrecht and his orchestra Il Fondamento for Vanguard Classics in 1996 (and re-released on the Belgian label Passacaille: ASIN: B000ALJ9C4) is, to my mind, even better, with slightly faster tempi and rather more emphasis on the winds. The Dombrecht is coupled with Handel's Water Musick, whereas Goebel adds three quite rare Telemann suites which are beautifully performed and give his winds a chance to display all their glory. And glory there is here, too, for Goebel has among his players some of the most famous German early music specialists, including Michael Schneider, Karl Kaiser, Hans-Peter Westermann and Michael McCraw, with no less than Andreas Staier and Harald Hoeren playing the two harpsichords (Dombrecht appears to use only one harpsichord).

IF IT WERE POSSIBLE I WOULD GIVE IT 10 STARS
THIS IS THE ONLY VERSION I HAVE LISTENED HOWEVER I SUSPECT IS UNIQUE BECAUSE OF A GLORIOUS INTERPRETATION AND A FIRST CLASS RECORDING. IF YOU BUY IT YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.