Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)
Four Fantasies
arranged after the Fantasies for violin solofor alto recorder solo
Arranged by Franz Müller-BuschGirolamo G 12.027, playing score, € 13,00
ISMN 979-0-50084-046-6
Preface
Georg Philipp Telemann’s Zwölf Fantasien (twelve fantasies) for solo flute without thorough bass, published in 1732/33, are widely known to recorder players due to the fact that quite a variety of adaptations or transpositions have been published.
In 1735 Telemann issued twelve more fantasies for violin at his own publishing company in Hamburg. As to complexity and imaginativeness these pieces are similar in style to the flute fantasies. Eight of these fantasies are not suitable for a wind instrument due to the double stops, the chords and the long passages with a two-part structure. However the fantasies 7 to 10 have to a large extent only one voice and can be thus transposed to a wind instrument.
From the very start I realised that an adaptation will always be subjective and depend upon many personal decisions taken by the editor during the working process. The goal I set myself was to create a well sounding and playable version that would sound like original music for the treble recorder and stay as close to the original as possible.
The following steps were undertaken:
– The transposition to a key that is inherent to the recorder and will entail as little voice breaks as possible. In the second movement of the fantasia in F major a double transposition to f minor was inevitable since a transposition to d minor would have considerably distorted the movement by too many voice breaks.
– The octave transposition of single notes or whole passages that were too high or too low. The complete range of the recorder including the high register up to a-flat''' has been exploited since Telemann intentionally makes ample use of the high register in his sonatas and cantatas. Only very occasionally was it necessary to transpose single notes within the harmonic framework.
– At certain places double stops and chords were changed to appogiaturas or suspensions (for instance at interrupted cadences or in some slow movements). As a rule they have been however omitted due to the priority of the melodic line.
– Some articulation marks have been adapted to the recorders’ means and some trill marks have been added.
The Telemann Urtext-edition by Günter Haußwald from 1955 (Bärenreiter BA 2927) has served as a master copy for this edition and in addition the only existing source of the fantasies, the copy of an unknown copyist kept in the Staatsbibiliothek Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz under the signature Mus. Ms 21788 has been consulted. The facsimile print can be obtained at Edition Wallhall, EW 265.
Translation: Julia Whybrow
Celle, August 2009, Franz Müller-Busch
