Richard Boothby – Telemann: Twelve Fantasias for Solo Viola da Gamba (2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

While his twelve fantasias for solo flute and solo piano, all published in the 1730s, have been revised many times and spread all over Europe – so that a number of scores have always been available – Telemann’s twelve fantasias for solo viola da gamba, published around the same time, seem to have been lost until 2000: no edition, no copy, no manuscript… Nothing. But then one fine day, the substantial contents of the library of a stately home near Osnabrück were presented to the German National Library, and after years of evaluation, miraculously, it was discovered that amongst the treasures there lay the one and only extant copy of these fantasias for viola da gamba. Twelve “new” works by Telemann, a godsend for viola da gamba players! Ten of them were written in three movements; the first only has two, and the second, by way of balance, perhaps, has four. Telemann runs through different keys fairly haphazardly: after the first four, which move from C to F, the others zigzag around somewhat. The formats of these fantasias are all fairly analogous to one another: the movements last two or three minutes. But it is in writing technique that Telemann is really adventurous. The keys which are “easier” for the instrumentalist, that is, those that contain the most open chords, make use of a lot of polyphony, while pieces in the rarer tonalities develop a deliciously melodic language. Viola da gamba player Richard Boothby, a student of Harnoncourt, made a solid name for himself in the baroque milieu when he founded the Purcell Quartet in 1984, and then the Fretwork ensemble the following year, with whom he has recorded a very well-regarded version of the Goldberg Variations.

Tracklist:
1. Fantasia in C Minor, TWV 40:26 : I. Adagio – Allegro 03:15
2. Fantasia in C Minor, TWV 40:26 : II. Allegro 02:11
3. Fantasia in D Major, TWV 40:27 : I. Vivace 02:34
4. Fantasia in D Major, TWV 40:27 : II. Andante 02:06
5. Fantasia in D Major, TWV 40:27 : III. Vivace 02:31
6. Fantasia in D Major, TWV 40:27 : IV. Presto 01:32
7. Fantasia in E Minor, TWV 40:28 : I. Largo 01:59
8. Fantasia in E Minor, TWV 40:28 : II. Presto 01:43
9. Fantasia in E Minor, TWV 40:28 : III. Vivace 01:36
10. Fantasia in F Major, TWV 40:29 : I. Vivace 04:28
11. Fantasia in F Major, TWV 40:29 : II. Grave 00:34
12. Fantasia in F Major, TWV 40:29 : III. Allegro 01:36
13. Fantasia in B-Flat Major, TWV 40:30 : I. Allegro 02:35
14. Fantasia in B-Flat Major, TWV 40:30 : II. Largo 00:59
15. Fantasia in B-Flat Major, TWV 40:30 : III. Allegro 01:33
16. Fantasia in G Major, TWV 40:31 : I. Scherzando 02:44
17. Fantasia in G Major, TWV 40:31 : II. Dolce 02:32
18. Fantasia in G Major, TWV 40:31 : III. Spirituoso 02:32
19. Fantasia in G Minor, TWV 40:32 : I. Andante 04:24
20. Fantasia in G Minor, TWV 40:32 : II. Vivace 01:37
21. Fantasia in G Minor, TWV 40:32 : III. Allegro 01:36
22. Fantasia in A Major, TWV 40:33 : I. Allegro 01:57
23. Fantasia in A Major, TWV 40:33 : II. Grave 01:56
24. Fantasia in A Major, TWV 40:33 : III. Vivace 02:10
25. Fantasia in C Major, TWV 40:34 : I. Presto 02:11
26. Fantasia in C Major, TWV 40:34 : II. Grave 02:57
27. Fantasia in C Major, TWV 40:34 : III. Allegro 02:04
28. Fantasia in E Major, TWV 40:35 : I. Dolce – Allegro 02:29
29. Fantasia in E Major, TWV 40:35 : II. Siciliana 01:57
30. Fantasia in E Major, TWV 40:35 : III. Scherzando 02:06
31. Fantasia in D Minor, TWV 40:36 : I. Allegro 02:12
32. Fantasia in D Minor, TWV 40:36 : II. Grave 01:43
33. Fantasia in D Minor, TWV 40:36 : III. Allegro 02:05
34. Fantasia in E Flat-Major, TWV 40:37: I. Andante 03:00
35. Fantasia in E Flat-Major, TWV 40:37 : II. Allegro 02:13
36. Fantasia in E Flat-Major, TWV 40:37: III. Vivace 02:26