Concerto in F major TWV 51:F1

Although
Telemann kept control over the distribution of his music by running his own
publishing house, many of his surviving scores exist in copies made by his good
friends Samuel Endler and Darmstadt’sHofkapellmeister, Chistoph Graupner. One such
exquisitely rendered manuscript, sadly undated, proves to be the earliest
source of Telemann’s F major concerto. There are, however, many factors leading
us to believe that this is an early work of Telemann’s, dating from his
Eisenach years. The adoption of Corelli’s four-movement concerto da chiesa form shows no sign of the ritornello
passages made popular by the publication of Vivaldi’s L’estro armonico in 1711, of which Telemann was to
later become very fond. The scoring is relatively simple, showing a lack of
development between the orchestra and soloist. Much of the time the solo
passages on the recorder are sparsely accompanied, to the extent that in the adagio movement Telemann chooses to omit the
upper strings altogether. The use of the French minuet and doubleto end the piece is one
of the first examples of a trend that would later become integrated into the
early Classical symphonic form, demonstrating the delight Telemann took in
mixing different styles in a new and inventive way. This concerto is full of
charm, humor, and virtuosity, cleverly utilising the natural language and
technique of the recorder, giving testament to fact that Telemann was himself
an eminent performer of the instrument.