Telemann: the Early Pedagogue

Abstract

The Baroque Era (1600-1750) was a musical period of great extravagance. In addition to the creation of several new genres and instruments, the Baroque Period also ushered in the time of the amateur musician. As music became more accessible to the public, people began to learn to play music and perform small pieces in their homes for entertainment. The rise of music for home performance led to the rise of pedagogical publications. This research project explores historical publications and the pedagogical writings of Telemann as a guide to creating my own historically informed ornamentation. Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was a prominent Baroque composer. As amateur music grew in popularity, composers like Telemann began to publish music specifically written for beginners. This presentation explores Telemann’s role as an early pedagogue as demonstrated by his publications Der Getreue Music-Meister and the Methodical Sonatas. One of Telemann’s lesser known pedagogical writings are two sets of sonatas titled the Methodical Sonatas published in 1728 and 1732. The unusual part of this composition is that Telemann published a second line that includes the melody and his own ornamentation. The Methodical Sonatas are important because they provide direct insight into how Telemann would have ornamented his own music which allows present day performers to create historically accurate ornamentation.