Ach so!
Baroque music from Germany
J. S. Bach – Händel – Telemann
Juho Punkeri, tenor
Hanna Haapamäki, recorder and traverso
Pauliina Fred, traverso
FiBO Players
If there was a Baroque composer all-stars team, Italy and Germany would rule it. Although Italy reputedly is the greatest country of Baroque music, the typical image more or less represents the German late Baroque style, and on the map of Western art music, Bach and Händel are among the most well-known names. There may be plenty of reasons behind the success, but a common factor is the ability of German-speaking Baroque composers to combine the best parts of different European styles.
Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Händel had very different career paths, despite them being born in the same year: Bach spent his whole life in a very narrow geographic area, while Händel, born in Halle, matured during a study trip to Italy, moved further to England and became an international top composer. Georg Philipp Telemann, Bach’s close friend, was only a few years their senior.
This concert celebrates the richness of Late Baroque music. It opens a window to an era when large-scale music – operas, oratorios and orchestral pieces – evolved at full pace. On the other hand, small-scale music was still needed for the salons of the ever-wealthier bourgeoisie.
In today’s perspective, Bach’s orchestral suites are veritable milestones of orchestral composing. The second series will be heard in the concert. The final piece is the inventive Telemann’s concert with recorder and traverso as competing soloists. It is, however, the charming Händel who plays the leading part in the concert, with a selection of his arias in English and intimate chamber music.
Pauliina Fred introduces the concert (in Finnish) at the café in Kanneltalo on March 7th at 18.15–18.45.