Telemania! Music by Telemann and Bach
Buoyant and effervescent music by the most prolific composer of all time, join us for some Telemania!
Telemann was a contemporary of Bach and considered a more accessible and up-to-date composer than Bach. He was even the preferred candidate for a job that Bach eventually took up as third or fourth choice! Nevertheless, they were clearly friends as Telemann was godfather to Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and for this reason we are popping in a harpsichord concerto by Bach into the otherwise Telemann exclusive programme.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records Telemann is the most prolific composer in Western music history, writing in excess of 3,000 works, almost three times as many as Bach and five times as many as Mozart! Despite this tremendous activity Telemann was an avid gardener: ‘I am insatiable where hyacinths and tulips are concerned, greedy for ranunculi, and especially for anemones,’ he wrote once in a letter. He spent a good deal of time in his Hamburg garden and exchanged bulbs and plants with renowned botanists across Europe.
We are thrilled to be joined by leading period performance keyboardist Erin Helyard who will join NZ Barok in curating this programme. Erin has been acclaimed as an inspiring conductor, a virtuosic and expressive performer of the harpsichord and fortepiano and is Artistic Director and co-founder of the celebrated Pinchgut Opera and the Orchestra of the Antipodes (Sydney). NZ Barok is thrilled to be working with Erin again.
NZ Barok thanks Auckland Council Regional Arts and Culture, Dame Jenny Gibbs, Athena Trust and NZ Barok supporters for their support of these concerts.
Comprising leading baroque specialists from all over New Zealand, NZ Barok performs using instruments and playing styles of the period, breathing fresh life and vitality into baroque and classical masterpieces and lesser-known musical treasures from the 18th century.
“… authentic, classy and spirited performances… I certainly look forward to any future opportunities to hear NZ Barok.” – Tony Ryan, RNZ Concert
“NZ Barok are a revelation… the distinctive sound of their authentic instruments in perfect balance.” – Theatre Review
