The Weimar Club: J.S. Bach, Pisendel, & Telemann

July 26, 2020

Pisendel, J.S. Bach, and Telemann hanging out together. Image by John Ott, Sr.

https://youtu.be/8dDPUY47UJE or search for Guts Baroque on YouTube

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We performed our fourth monthly livestream concert on Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 3PM Pacific/6PM Eastern. This concert featured sonatas for violin and continuo by J.S. Bach and two of his close friends.

While Johann Sebastian Bach was working in the court at Weimar, he met and worked with many famous musicians and composers, some of whom became lifelong friends. In particular, Bach became good friends with Georg Philipp Telemann, who worked in nearby Eisenach. The two were similar ages, and Telemann stood as godfather to Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel. While passing through on his way to Leipzig, the violinist Johann Georg Pisendel stopped in Weimar, where he, Bach and Telemann became close friends.

Our program features sonatas for violin and continuo by Bach and Telemann, as well as one that is likely a collaboration between Bach and Pisendel. The manuscript is in Pisendel’s (distinctively messy) hand, but the style is similar enough to Bach’s works that it was originally catalogued as Bach’s and given a BWV number. The current consensus attributes it to Pisendel, but definitely influenced by Bach.

Come listen to some strange and dark music created by the masters Bach and Pisendel, and then let Telemann’s sonata lift your heart back to joy!

Program:

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Violin Sonata in E Minor, BWV 1023
Johann Georg Pisendel’s Violin Sonata in C Minor, aka BWV 1024
Georg Philipp Telemann’s Violin Sonata in A Major, TWV 41:A4

Here’s the program! Available as a full booklet or 1-page PDF:

Full PDF program with notes!
One-page PDF program