Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Overture in D Major, TWV 55:D21
Ino TVWV 20:41
Divertimento in E–flat Major TWV 50:21
Sinfonia melodica in C Major TWV 50:2
Christina Landshamer (soprano)
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin/Bernard Forck
rec. 2022, Nikodemuskirche, Berlin
Pentatone PTC5187072 [71]
One of the special delights of Western Art Music is the discovery of superior music not previously encountered. Although the repertory for this genre is quite massive, even within one segment such gems may be curiously evasive. Georg Philipp Telemann wrote twice the amount of music compared with his contemporary, J.S. Bach. While half of his total output of 3,000 items may have been lost, there is significant probability of serendipitous discovery when exploring the oeuvre of Telemann.
Essentially autodidactic, Telemann initially studied law, but eventually settled for a career in music. His music embodies French, Italian, and German National styles. He was also influenced by Polish popular music. Telemann is considered an important link between the Late Baroque and Early Classical styles. He composed 1043 sacred cantatas, 600 orchestral suites and types of concertos for combinations of instrument that no other composer of the time employed.
The cantata Ino is not over-recorded, and on this occasion is coupled with three other orchestral works, all written during the last few years of Telemann’s life. The cantata, the libretto for which was written by Karl Wilhelm Ramler, is essentially rich and colourful. It is based on a section of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and begins where Handel’s Semele leaves off. Ino is Semele’s sister and Telemann starts with Ino fleeing her enraged husband Athamas, who has already murdered one of their two sons. She is forced to jump off a cliff holding the remaining infant. Both mother and child are rescued as Ino is transfigured into the goddess Leukothea.
Superior versions of this cantata will assure that the dramatic nature of the libretto is embodied in the performance of both singer and orchestra. To emphasize the drama in this work, Telemann employs only a single female voice. There are some fine older performances of this work by Yvonne Cianella, Gundula Janowitz, Barbara Schlick, Roberta Alexander and more recently, Ana Maria Labin, and Clara Rottsolk.
Christina Landshamer was born in 1977 in Munich. She studied at Hochschule für Musik und Theatre, Munich with Angelica Vogel; from 1996. Her studies continued at the State University of Munich and Performing Arts, Stuttgart in the class of Konrad Richter, and the Soloist Class with Dunja Vejzovic.
Acknowledging the dramatic nature of Ino, past performances have been evaluated accordingly. One observer noted that although the singing of Janowitz was ‘sheerly beautiful’, the performance of Cianella was ‘a lot more dramatic and colourful’. Landshamer’s voice is powerful in all registers, and the timbre most agreeable. On these attributes the desired dramatic and colourful performance framework is built, and as such is more redolent of Labin and Schlick than some other recorded versions.
The Akademie für Alte Music Berlin has developed a reputation as one of the finest period-instrument ensembles currently performing. In this recording the balance between voice and orchestra is such that the former is never compromised by the latter. While recording techniques can correct the ‘sins’ in performance, the impression gained here is that it has much more to do with excellence of musicianship. The sound of the orchestra alone is beautifully balanced with an overall rich and smooth sound ideally found with instrumentation of this kind. Of particular interest is the bass component: it is very resonant and sometimes conveys a sense of drama and intrigue particularly germane to the score. The orchestral works are also well played and most enjoyable, but slightly overshadowed by Ino.
Overall, an enjoyable recording. Not only is the music very well played, but the sonic quality of the recording is also excellent. For those unfamiliar with Ino, this will be a delightful discovery.
Zane Turner
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