Even as Georg Philipp Telemann's significance within eighteenth-century musical culture has become more widely appreciated in recent years, the English-language literature on his life and music has remained limited. This volume, bringing together sixteen essays by leading scholars from the USA, Germany, and Japan, helps to redress this imbalance as it signals a more international engagement with Telemann's legacy. The composer appears here not only as an important early Enlightenment figure, but also as a postmodern one. Chapters on his sacred music address the works' sensitivity to Lutheran and physico-theology, contrasting of historical and modern consciousness, and embodiment of an emerging opus concept. His secular compositions and writings are brought into rich dialogue with French musical and aesthetic currents. Also considered are Telemann's relationships with contemporaries such as Johann Sebastian Bach, the urban and courtly contexts for his music, and his influential position as 'general Kapellmeister' of protestant Germany.
Part I. Enlightenment Perspectives: 1. Sehet an die Exempel der Alten: The Presence of the Past in Telemann's Sacred Vocal Music Steven Zohn; 2. Composing 'Freedom' and Freedom of the Composer: Telemann's French Pastoral Drama Wolfgang Hirschmann; 3. Telemann's Beschreibung and Castel's 'Enlightenment' Harpsichord Joyce Z. Lindorff; Part II. Urban and Courtly Contexts: 4. Telemann, Lüneburg, and Roger Brown Carsten Lange; 5. Hamburg Passion Music at Telemann's Arrival Daniel R. Melamed; 6. The Testament of Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar Andrew Talle; Part III. Nature (and) Theology in the Late Vocal Works: 7. Telemann's Donner-Ode and Lutheran Nature Theology Joyce Irwin; 8. Body, Nature, and Emotion in Telemann's Christmas Cantatas Markus Rathey; 9. Beyond Simplicity: Telemann's Musical Idyll Der May, TVWV 20:40 Andreas Waczkat; Part IV. Bach Family Connections: 10. Telemann as 'General Kapellmeister' to the Bach Family David Schulenberg; 11. Style as Substance: Kapellmeister Telemann and Konzertmeister Bach in Weimar Ellen Exner; 12. Sacred Pastiches: Telemann Chorales in C. P. E. Bach's Church Music Jason B. Grant; Part V. Cantata Cycles in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Beyond: 13. Recitative Notation in Telemann's Church Cantatas Kota Sato; 14. Telemann's Stolbergischer Jahrgang (1736–37) in the Context of His Sacred Cantata Cycles Nina Eichholz; 15. Telemann's Cantata Cycle of 1733–34: Methodological Reflections on Its Identification Ralph-Jürgen Reipsch; 16. Under the Reign of Telemann's Sacred Cantata Cycles: New Observations on the Music Repertory in Hirschberg, Breslau, and Augsburg Michael Maul.
Wolfgang Hirschmann is chief editor of the critical edition of Telemann's works, and editor of many volumes within this series. He serves as chief co-editor of the Hallische Händel-Ausgabe. His work also focuses on Telemann's concertos, Johann Mattheson's legacy, and Handel reception in 20th-century Germany. Steven Zohn is the author of Music for a Mixed Taste: Style, Genre, and Meaning in Telemann's Instrumental Works (2008) and The Telemann Compendium (2020). The editor of volumes for the C. P. E. Bach and Telemann critical editions, he has served as co-editor of the journal Eighteenth-Century Music and General Editor for the American Bach Society.
