(Wonderful) adagio from Telemann's Concerto for Trumpet, Strings, and Continuo in D

[FLWrd]

I've rendered one of my favorite short pieces, the first part, adagio, from Telemann's Concerto for Trumpet, Strings, and Continuo in D (TWV 51/D7). I found the score here, and adapted it a bit to match the performance I like (by Musica Antiqua Köln). It was done with all strings at Short+Sus, the harpsichord (8') and the SAM solo trumpet.

To me, this is a very comforting piece. May you find some peace in it too.

Listen or download: http://www.box.net/shared/fg6aueaiae

Comments, as always, very much welcome.

[garymosse]

Hi Theo
Baroque music can be relaxing to listen to. Nice job here.
The melodic line at the end seems different for the period. Just a feeling.
I wonder if lowering the strings by an octave could better "frame" the solo.

Gary

[FLWrd]

This is calming indeed. To me it's also a bit introspective, but we cannot ascribe such ideas to Baroque composers...

The melodic line is pretty ingenious, according to me, but well crafted, because it manages to triumphantly return to the opening statement just at the moment you least expect.

The strings are not particularly high, and the recording I have (and others on YouTube as well) all have the strings in the same range. Notes sometimes overlap. I guess it's on purpose, as Telemann was a rather skillful composer. And lowering all one octave gives problems in the lower range: it's muddy and some notes fall outside the range of the instruments. The recording by Musica Antiqua Köln have the strings parts much more staccato though. Notes on a beat are loud(ish), and the one following is a lot softer, and both are very short. However, the trumpet also plays shorter notes there. My version does sound more "romantic".

Thanks for commenting.

[DelCarry]

Theo - nice job on this! Powerful but very gentle! Towards the end there are a couple of digital glitches when I played it on my system. Just a bit before the trumpet goes higher and higher. This is not the fault of your fine playing or instruments or the mix - something else. Happened every time I played it (3 times) Could just be on my end though.

Nicely recorded as well - do you do your own compositions as well?

Del

[sd cisco]

Yes, very lush and liked the harpsichord, a very natural sounding delivery, "live" kind of feel to it. Most peaceful!!
Thanks for posting!

Best regards.
sd cisco

[raweber]

Lovely. I really enjoy Teleman, and you've done a good job with this. I also heard the little glitches a bit more than 3/4 of the way in. It's something in the recording.

I thought the strings blended well, and don't think a lower octave would be any nicer. I wonder if the trumpeter would play with a little more legato - it sounded like everything was tongued, but I'm not sure. It didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the piece. Like most here, I'm an inveterate tweaker, trying the squeeze every last inch of realism from the samples.

Good job, and I look forward to your next offering!

[etLux]

Ahhhh... just lovely, Theo! An excellent rendition
of this, that captures the smooth grace and gentle
flow of the piece beautifully.

On the strings, you are correct -- they are exactly
where they belong... lowering them would destroy
the lucidity and clarity of the writing.

Possibly -- not that I think it needs it -- you might
drop the whole composition a whole tone or so.
This is sometimes done, as A=440 was an unknown
standard in Telemann's time, and the general run
of tuning was often somewhat lower than today.

For my part, I'd leave it stand just as it is, though.
Very well done, especially the trumpet part.

My best,



David
-----
David Sosnowski
www.DavidSosnowski.com

[FLWrd]

Thanks everyone. It was worth doing. Perhaps I'm going to record it with a live trumpetist one day, if he can manage to play it...

David: I already dropped it to A=415Hz (which is a semitone lower than 440), since my reference recording (on period instruments) also is in that tuning.

Raweber: I tried the autolegato, but the result was rather synthetic, while the rest of the instrument sounds magnificent. Perhaps I should have gone for the legato controller instead, but I tweaked the binding between the notes by changing the gaps a bit and the velocities.

[boulifb]

It's very relaxing.

Also it sounds near the interpretation of the Musica Antiqua Köln (I own their Brandenburg Concerto from Archive Produktion).

The execution is very human.

[Raymond62]

Many thanks, this is really a good and relaxing piece of music. Near the end I hear two hicks, as if someone slammed the door softly. I liked the rendering.
Maestro, more of this please.

Raymond