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“When the court moved to Pszczyna, to their Upper Silesian manor, I discovered, as in Krakow, much of the Polish and the Hantec music in its beauty, barbaric indeed. In ordinary inns, it was played on a fiddle tied to the body, tuned a third higher and much louder than six ordinary ones, on a Polish bagpipe, an alto trombone, and a regal. In places of greater grandeur, however, there was no regal, but they had more fiddles and bagpipes: I once counted 36 fiddles and 8 bagpipes. It is difficult to believe how wonderful ideas the pipers and the fiddlers have when they fantasise during the time dancers are resting. An observant person would gather ideas sufficient for their whole life in but eight days [here]. For there is so much good in this music. (...)”
G. Ph. Telemann [1681- 1767], text published in: J. Mattheson, General Bass- Schule
The 12 Fantasias for Solo Violin, published in Magdeburg in 1735, were created after the composer had returned from Poland to his native country. Telemann’s years in Poland (1704-1708) left a particular resonance in his works. The significance of the Polish style in the composer’s works is immense, as it can be observed, e.g. in the trio Polish Sonatas, the Polish suite of the Partie polonaise, the Polish concertos, and the six Partitas „alla polacca”. The manuscripts of these pieces contain direct references to the style in which they ought to be performed. Were the above pieces, however, the only compositions created under the influence of a sentiment for Polish music? Or, perhaps, maybe we could find Telemann’s inspiration to have come from this unique current in other pieces as well, be it in a slightly “Polish note” or in the convivial Polish “beat of the dancer’s leg hitting the floor”...?
„ (…) We have only recognised the Italian and the French style of writing. Is it not that we ought to add the Polish style to the two, one that we have only learnt about from Mister Telemann (...) Thus, we have three basic musical styles: the Italian, the French, and the Polish.”
F. W. Marpurg, Der Kritische Musicus an der Spree
It was this path that I decided to follow in my interpretation of the 12 Fantasias. I searched those twelve short pieces, separate and yet constituting a coherent whole, to find a “Polish step” and traces of the composer’s love for the Polish style – a love he had already fallen in many years before, and one that did not leave his heart for many years to come.
This is why it might be worthwhile to seek a polonaise, a kujawiak, an oberek, or even a mazur in this group of the German composer’s works, as they could lend a new image of the hypothetical musical shape of particular movements of the fantasias.
Thus, I commenced my search with the polonaise - the most famed Polish dance to be recognised across Europe. The dance found popularity at the Dresden court and other German courts, largely thanks to Georg Philip himself. Recognition of polonaise patterns in Telemann’s music comes at no great difficulty, as the composer seems to have developed a particular liking for the dance, utilising the whole palette of expression and agogical possibilities it leaves at the performer’s disposal.
In my view, the polonaise appears as early as in the first movement of the Fantasia No 1. The movement, maintaining a Largo tempo, contains rhythmical structures characteristic for the polonaise and thus becomes a form thereof, one melancholic in expression and slow in step. Because of the calm and melodious character, the movement may also be treated as a Kujawiak.
A polonaise-like character of similar expression is found in the third movement of the Fantasia No 7 (Largo as well) and in the second movement of the Fantasia No 10.
A more flowing polonaise in a moderate tempo can be found in the second movement of the Fantasia No. 11 - Soave, while the final movement presents a faster version, whose character is markedly different and could be described as more decisive.
The first movement of the Fantasia No 12 is where I found the last traces of a polonaise. This one maintains a moderate Moderato tempo, while the dotted rhythm characteristic of the dance lends it a majestic, stately character.
The Polish style, however, is not only the polonaise but also courtly and elegant. It is also folk music, which does not accompany balls held at court. Quite the contrary, it is found in everyday dances at the inn, ones that Georg Philip himself could witness, and surely participate in as well... The dance that represents this folk style, in my interpretation, is the oberek. It is the spirit of the oberek that permeates the following movements: the third movement Vivace of the Fantasia No 3 and the third movement Allegro of the Fantasia No 8.
I gave the triple-metre movements, such as the middle movements of the Fantasia No. 7 (Allegro) and the Fantasia No. 8 (Spirituoso), the character of a mazurka. Although they do not constitute a pure form of the dance due to the lack of the dotted rhythm, they are normally distinguished by the character, which seems to match them well and emphasises their danceability.
The only Krakowiak I have found among all the Fantasias is to be heard in the second movement, Vivace, of the Fantasia No 9.
Most of the final movements of the Fantasias are joyous, sometimes ribald in character, easily associated with the atmosphere of the Polish inns of the day, mentioned in the above quote from Telemann, filled with the beat of the dancers’ feet hitting the floor in the characteristically Polish fiery manner.
This is the dance I would like to invite you to take part in!
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