Telemann: Fantasias for Viola da Gamba CD review – a delight

‘Exceptional’: Robert Smith at his Telemann recording session at St Hilda’s, Sherburn, North Yorkshire.

Brought back into the daylight after centuries, these 12 fantasias for viola da gamba from 1735 by Georg Philipp Telemann are a delight. Their rediscovery in a Lower Saxony archive in 2015 revealed music of astonishing range, each fantasia possessing its own character and compositional signature. No 2, in D major, for instance, dances with an infectious jollity; No 4 in F major plumbs the depths of despair. Whatever the mood, this is playing of exceptional quality. Robert Smith navigates each piece with clear-eyed musicality, always weaving a beautifully sonorous, coherent line through Telemann’s rich invention.