Telemann

Georg Philipp Telemann

Telemann's extremely rich compositional output, the fruits of three quarters of a century's work, encompasses almost all genres of music; in his vocal works it ranges from songs with basso continuo accompaniment to chamber and church cantatas, and to opera. In his own assessment, church music played a central role in his output; he alone probably composed over 1,600 church cantatas, as well as cantata-style funeral music settings (such as Du aber, Daniel, gehe hin ), psalm settings (for example, Deus judicium tuum ) and oratorios. Throughout his works Telemann showed himself to be a progressive composer, open to new trends and keen to experiment whilst exploring new directions; not without reason was he called a forerunner of classicism. However, his compositions constitute only a part of his importance to music history: as a music publisher, the author of publications for teaching, the director of middle-class music societies and initiator of public concerts, he made a considerable contribution to creating the preconditions for the support of the musically-educated middle classes in the ensuing era of music.

Our catalog includes Telemann's sacred and secular vocal music, as well as his instrumental music. You can find an overview of his works in our publishing program >>here. Use the filters on the left hand side to sort results by scoring, genre, use during the church year, etc.  


 

Georg Philipp Telemann: Herr, lehre uns bedenken

Special instrumentations inspired Telemann’s imagination. In the cantata “Herr, lehre uns bedenken” from 1720, he linked the opening chorus and the two arias with concertante parts for a viola d’amore. Well aware, however, that the rare...

full score, Foreword in German and English

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Georg Philipp Telemann: Donner-Ode

The ambitious late work of Georg Philipp Telemann, consciously dedicated to vocal composition, begins with the Donner-Ode (1756/1760). As a symbol thunder represents the forces of nature, here in close connection to the traumatic earthquake of...

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Georg Philipp Telemann: Magnificat in C

Georg Philipp Telemann has long been perceived as a composer of sacred music, and particularly of the German-language church cantata. However, in the course of his long life he also composed church works setting Latin texts. In addition to works...

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