This trio sonata comes from the collection of twelve solo sonatas and twelve trios which Telemann published in Hamburg under the title
Essercizii Musici (c1739). The treble recorder part is, perhaps, one of the finest surviving testaments to Telemann’s unerring skill in exploring sonorities in an instrument of which he clearly had deep knowledge. In each of the three movements the recorder remains in those regions of its tessitura which enable it to speak articulately and authoritatively in a chamber music context and, of course, the softly-spoken viola da gamba provides an ideal partner. Most of the writing is closely imitative and Telemann’s chief concern is, perhaps, with sounds rather than musical intricacy. The blend of recorder and viola da gamba is potent in the ‘Mesto’ (mournful) slow movement, where Telemann’s skill in handling these instruments creates a brief but affecting elegy.
from notes by Nicholas Anderson © 2002
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