Works for violaThis concerto is one of the 125 concertos written by him for one ormore instruments, in addition to hundreds of other instrumental works,operas and church music.Telemann also wrote some other works of interest for the viola,something unusual in the Baroque time, when the viola was used only forfilling the harmonies. His other viola works are: a Concerto for two violas, the Scherzi Melodichi (a collection oftrio sonatas for violin, viola and continuo), Polish dances for two violins andviola, 12 Sonatas playable onthe viola or viola da gamba (as it was common at that time) andkeyboard; other trios forflute or violin or horn or oboe and viola.Instruments in Telemann viola concertoTelemann viola concerto in G major is scored for viola, strings andcontinuo (2 violins, viola cello, double bass and harpsichord). Itcould even be performed with only the solo viola and a quartet!In the whole concerto Telemann makes use of the full range of theviola (as it was used at that time), that blends very well with thestring orchestra.MovementsThe concerto is composed of four movements: Largo, Allegro, Andante andPresto.The short firstmovement opens with the orchestra introducing a quite solemn theme,then the viola repeats the initial part and enlarges andvaries it. Then the viola goes through several keys, accompanied by theorchestra that also dialogues with it, through short theme fragments.After a short cadenza, the movement is concluded by the orchestra.The second movement isobviously verycontrasting in mood, an Allegrowith anenergetic theme, played by the orchestra, built on an arpeggio andrepeated notes. The viola repeats only the head of the theme, leavingthe strings to complete it, as they did before. Then the viola performsthe whole theme, although 'deviating' to C major. Afterthis the viola startsdoing more elaboration of the thematic material, that brings theorchestra to play the theme in the key of D major, followed by adisplay of a series of arpeggios leading to the relative minor.
Telemann Concerto in G major for viola composed by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). Edited by Milton Katims. For viola and piano. Published by International Music Company.
When itseems that the movement has gone back to conclude in the original Gmajor,the viola starts a run of scales followed by even more arpeggiosascending to a high G tofinally arrive at the repetition of the theme by the orchestra, exactlyas it was exposed at the beginning.The third movement ofTelemann viola concerto is theone I find most interesting. Itis a melancholic Andante in e minorstarting in away that to me doesn't sound like the beginning of a movement,rather like the conclusion of a phrase (and in fact the movement laterends with exactly the same phrase).The viola then introduces aproper theme, with an interrogativecharacter, to me it seems that theviola is all the time asking questions and the orchestra tries to givesomesort of answer. At some point the viola seems to have found ananswer to all its questions inthe key of G major and the music becomes more relaxed, but onlyfor a short time. Soon there is a new question in the cadenza, leadingto theconclusion by the orchestra, as it opened.The fourth movement is in twoparts withrepeats, unlike the previous movements. Its character is the oppositeof the previous one: this is a jolly, confidentlyaffirmative Presto,there are no doubts in it.The orchestra introduces the theme, which issimply a G major chord with cadenza, a descending G major scale and anascending G major arpeggio.
No doubts, we are in G major!)followed by syncopated phrase. The viola takes it andvaries it a bit by adding passing notes, to arrive to the theme in Dmajor. A rapid passage by the viola leads to the syncopated second partof the theme and the end of the first half. The head of the theme isannounced in D byorchestra, taken by the viola in e minor varying it in otherminorkeys to a minor. The orchestra continues in the same key, but the violasuddenly turns it into a major, happy key again, which will last to theend after repeating the fast passages seen before, concluding themovement in a robust tutti.Buy Telemann CDs and sheet music. I think you'll agree that Telemann violaconcerto is a very joyful and enjoyable piece, that should appear moreoften inconcert programmes.So if you like it and wish to listen to iton your best quality CD player, click on the picture here below so youcan find a few of it.And for those viola players who'd like to enrich concert programmes byperforming Telemann viola concerto, there areseveral editions to choose from.Below here are some of them, from a digital version todownload, to the Urtext (or originaltext), to play-along with CD, to versions edited byfamous viola players. Downloadable Sheet music.
Download:Telemann viola Concerto for viola and orchestrain Gmajor, violaand piano;Other works by Telemann:CanonicSonatas (originally for two violins)forforPrinted sheet music(Classical Play-AlongVolume 8). By Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). Classical Play-Along. Soft cover with CD. Published by HalLeonard (HL.842348)By Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767).
Edited by Leonid Leibowitsch.Viola. Dowani Book/CD. Play Along.Book with CD.24 pages.
Dowani International #DOW14500. Published by DowaniInternational (HL.44006405)By GeorgPhilipp Telemann (1681-1767). Edited by Wolfgang Hirschmann. For Viola,Piano. Solo part and piano reduction;UrtextEdition. Duration 12'.
Published by BaerenreiterVerlag (BA.BA5878-90)By Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767).Arranged by Wolff, Hellmuth Christian (1906-19??), Editor. For strings,harpsichord in score, solo viola in set. Study Scores. German: Baroque.
Set of parts. Duration 11 minutes.Published by Edwin F. Kalmus (KM.A3267-STP)(Set of performance parts).
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ByGeorg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). Arranged by William Primrose.
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Forviola and piano. Difficulty: medium. Set of performance parts(includes separate pull out viola part). Solo part and piano reduction. Schirmer #LB1973. Published by G.
Schirmer (HL.50481381)By Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). Editedby Milton Katims. For Viola and piano.Published by International MusicCompany (IM.401)(Concerto for Viola) By Georg PhilippTelemann (1681-1767). Edited by Karl Heinz Fussl. For viola and piano.Baroque. Difficulty: medium.
Set of performance parts (includesseparate pull-out viola part). Solopart and piano reduction. Published byBaerenreiter Verlag (BA.BA3712).
Composer: Georg Philipp TelemannEditor: Phillip SchmidtInstrumentation: viola with piano reduction28 pagesPublisher: Henle Urtext EditionPublisher's Product Number: HN1217The viola is often not credited with being able to take over a soloistic role – but this is completely unjust. In 1738 Johann Philipp Eisel already wrote of the viola as being the “very bowels of music” and stressed that it was not only needed to “flesh out” the orchestral sound but also as a “concert voice, which is fully proven by the concertos and concert overtures by the famous Capell-Meister Telemann.” Telemann's Concerto in G major is considered to be one of the earliest works for solo viola and orchestra and forms part of the core repertoire for pupils and students. In our Urtext piano reduction the specialist Kai Kopp has provided information regarding historical performance practice.