Ryan Layne Whitney (Telemann: Ouvertüre No. 4 in E minor, on clavichord)

Georg Philipp Telemann: Ouvertüre No. 4 in E minor, played on replica 1670 Gellinger clavichord. Telemann published, in 1745, a set of Six Ouvertüres for keyboard, which, I believe, ought to be more well-known than they apparently are. I think they are as delightful to play and hear as the more famous keyboard fantasias. The 4th Ouvertüre, which I play here, like the others in the collection, is made up of three movements, the first of which is in the style of the French overture. The movements are (1) [Lento] -- [Allegro] -- [Lento]; (2) Moderato e scherzando (at minute 3:55); (3) Allegro (at minute 6:03) -- Piacevole (at minute 7:29) -- Allegro. I noted the minute mark on the Piacevole section of the 3rd movement especially, because Telemann here seems to be indulging in modulatory experiments that sound odd even to our 21st century ears, and must certainly have done so to his contemporaries! The clavichord I play is a replica, built by the talented instrument builder Jack Peters of Seattle ( http://www.jackpeters.com ), of an instrument built in Frankfurt in 1670 by Israel Gellinger. It is triple fretted, with a solid walnut case, olive-wood naturals, and ebony accidentals. The original resides in a museum in Belgium.