REPERTOIRE  GUIDE

Georg Philipp Telemann

Contributor: Ellen Kogut

Violin Syllabus, 2021 Edition: Repertoire 8, List D

Fantasia No. 7

in E flat Major

Historical Context

Telemann wrote several sets of pieces for solo instruments, including flute, harpsichord, and viola da gamba. His Twelve Fantasias for Violin were published in Hamburg in 1735. Telemann was an accomplished, albeit self-taught, violinist, and the Twelve Fantasias are a fine example of idiomatic violin writing. They fit the player’s left hand comfortably and make the most of the violin’s capabilities, in terms of timbre and resonance. The Twelve Fantasias are contrapuntal and polyphonic, consisting of two or more independent melodic lines. This was typical of the German Baroque approach to unaccompanied violin writing.

While the Twelve Fantasias are beautiful in their own right, they can also help prepare students for other unaccompanied works, such as Johann Sebastian Bach’s Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin.

It is important to keep the construction of the Baroque bow in mind. Unlike our modern bows, a Baroque bow had no piece of wood separating the bow hair from the tip. This made the Baroque bow much lighter at the tip:

General Teaching Tips

If you have access to a Baroque bow, you may want to let your students try it, so that they get a feel for the difference in weight at the tip.

Because of this weight difference, notes played on a down-bow, from frog to tip, would naturally get softer, or “decay.” Have your student reference this kind of sound using the modern bow by taking weight out of the string on down-bows. Note that this may feel counterintuitive at first, as other genres of music we are familiar with require an even, sustained sound at the tip.

In general, your student should think of rounded motions as well as smooth bow changes and string crossings in this movement. Remind them that dolce translates literally to “sweet.” Avoid abrupt, jerky motions, which go against this kind of character.

Encourage your student to use space to their advantage in the dolce. In the opening measures, for example, they should use a full down-bow on the first E flat. Have them add a little space after this note and listen for its resonance. Meanwhile, have them lower the right elbow slightly and cross the bow gently over to the E string for the following up-bow. The elbow should make a circular motion here:

Have your student add a similar space between the other eighth notes in mm. 1 and 2. Draw attention to the fact that these notes form a descending bass line:

Have your student play the two-note slurs in these measures, as well as those in mm. 12–13, unevenly. The first note of the slur should receive more bow than the second, creating a kind of “sighing” gesture:

They should also listen for which notes outline the “internal direction” of the sequences in this piece. In mm. 5–6, for example, the bass notes form a five-note, ascending, G minor scale. Bring out these notes by leaning in at the frog and lengthening them slightly:

Creative Expression/Artistry

The grace-note appoggiaturas, such as those in mm. 3 and 4, create moments of harmonic tension. Again, have your students bring out these notes by leaning in at the frog:

Similarly, your student should lean into dissonant chords. In the second beat of m. 8, for example, lean in heavily and use a slow bow speed on the major second between the D flat and E. Lighten up on the bow weight when the dissonance is resolved in the third beat:

Technique

In m. 4, it may help to think of the A flat enharmonically, as a G sharp. Try playing it with the second finger, to avoid a change in position of the third finger from the previous G:

In m. 7, your student should set the third finger D before the notes of the trill, listening for a ring with the open D string. Setting the fingers in this order will help centre intonation:

For the three-note chord in m. 7, the third finger should be blocked, by setting it between the D and A strings. Lifting the bow slightly on the sixteenth note G before this chord gives the left hand a moment to set this position.

Telemann in

Violin Syllabus, 2021 Edition

Level 3
Concerto in D Major, TWV 51:D9
1st movement: Con contento

Sonatina in F Major, TWV 41:F1
3rd movement: Presto
 

Level 4
Sonatina No. 2 in B flat Major, TWV 41:B2
Presto
 

Level 5
Concerto in G Major, TWV 51:G8
1st movement: Presto

Sonata in E Major, TWV 41:E1
1st movement: Affettuoso-Siciliano
and 4th movement: Allegro

Level 6
Sonata in A Minor, TWV 41:a3
1st movement: Siciliana (arr. Kathleen Wood)
2nd movement: Spirituoso (arr. Kathleen Wood)

Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, TWV 41:g1
1st movement: Adagio and 2nd movement: Allegro
1st movement: Adagio and 4th movement: Vivace

Sonata No. 2 in D Major, TWV 41:D1
1st movement: Allemanda and 2nd movement: Corrente
1st movement: Allemanda and 4th movement: Vivace

Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, TWV 41:h1
3rd movement: Andante and 4th movement: Vivace

Sonata No. 4 in G Major, TWV 41:G11st movement: Largo and 2nd movement: Allegro
1st movement: Largo and 4th movement: Vivace

Telemann in

Violin Syllabus, 2021 Edition

Level 9
Fantasia No. 2 in G Major, TWV 40:15
1st movement: Largo and 2nd movement: Allegro

Fantasia No. 3 in F Minor, TWV 40:16
1st movement: Un poco vivace and 2nd movement: Soave

Fantasia No. 11 in F Major, TWV 40:24
1st movement: Adagio and 2nd movement: Presto

Level 6 (continued)
Sonata No. 6 in A Major, TWV 41:A1
1st movement: Largo and 2nd movement: Corrente

Level 8
Fantasia No. 1 in B flat Major, TWV 40:14
1st movement: Largo

Fantasia No. 7 in E flat Major, TWV 40:20
1st movement: Dolce
2nd movement: Allegro

Fantasia No. 8 in E Major, TWV 40:21
2nd movement: Spirituoso

Fantasia No. 12 in A Minor, TWV 40:25
1st movement: Moderato
2nd movement: Vivace