Page "Georg Philipp Telemann" Paragraph 21

Telemann was the most prolific composer of his time: his oeuvre comprises more than 3000 pieces.

The first accurate estimate of the number of his works were provided by musicologists only during the 1980s and the 1990s, when extensive thematic catalogues were published.

During his lifetime and the later half of the 18th century Telemann was very highly regarded by colleagues and critics alike.

Numerous theorists ( Marpurg, Mattheson, Quantz, and Scheibe, among others ) cited his works as models, and major composers such as J. S.

Bach and Handel bought and studied his published works.

He was immensely popular not only in Germany but in the rest of Europe as well: orders for editions of Telemann's music came from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, and Spain.

It was only in early 19th century that his popularity came to a sudden halt.

Most lexicographers started dismissing him as a " polygraph " who composed too many works, a Vielschreiber for whom quantity came before quality.

Such views were influenced by an account of Telemann's music by Christoph Daniel Ebeling, a late-18th-century critic who in fact praised Telemann's music and only made passing critical remarks of his productivity.

After the Bach revival, Telemann's works were judged as inferior to Bach's and lacking in religious fervour.

Particularly striking examples of such unfair judgements were produced by noted Bach biographers Philipp Spitta and Albert Schweitzer, who criticized Telemann's cantatas and then praised works they thought were composed by Bach — but which were, in fact, composed by Telemann, as was shown by later research.

The last performance of a substantial work by Telemann ( Der Tod Jesu ) occurred in 1832, and it was not until the 20th century that his music started being performed again.

The revival of interest in Telemann began in the first decades of the 20th century and culminated in the Bärenreiter critical edition of the 1950s.

Today each of Telemann's works is usually given a TWV number.

TWV stands for Telemann-Werke-Verzeichnis ( Telemann Works Catalogue ).