Continuo Foundation Grant Round 8 grantees have been announced, and we are honoured to be one of them.
Florilegium will be joined by soprano Rowan Pierce and violinist Rachel Podger in a new recording of rarely performed vocal and instrumental music by Telemann from April 7-11 2025 and are delighted to have received generous support from the Continuo Foundation to help us realise this exciting project.
Telemann’s Cantata Ino for solo soprano and chamber orchestra, composed in 1765 when he was 84 years old was described in 1768 as “a highly popular and impressive cantata” and yet there are currently only three earlier commercial recordings of this work. It is extraordinary that in the twilight years of a long and prodigiously productive career, Telemann should have been able to create what we regard as his vocal masterpiece; and in a style that reveals a thorough grasp of and affection for the early classical idiom of the time.
In the eyes of his 18th-century contemporaries, Telemann was the greatest living composer. The critic Mattheson wrote of him that ‘Corelli and Lully may be justly honoured, but Telemann is above all praise’.
The multiplicity of Telemann’s activities and the great number and variety of his compositions are remarkable and this new recording presents several rarely performed and recorded masterpieces.
These include two double concertos: his popular concerto for flute and recorder very much in the Polish folk style, whilst the double concerto for flute and violin pays homage to Vivaldi’s Italianate concerto style, when Ashley and Rachel will join together as soloists in this tour de force concerto. The final work will be a charming unaccompanied duet for flute and violin – a work that has not been recorded on a commercial label before.
We look forward to sharing news of this project as it develops and we draw close to the recording in April next year.