René Jacobs recorded Telemann: Cantatas & Odes for Capriccio in 1989 during a brief period of estrangement from his home base, Harmonia Mundi. Until his 1996 recording of
Telemann's opera Orpheus, this was his only
Telemann recording, one that has renewed significance on its 2009 re-release, arriving uncomfortably close to the advent of a major Harmonia Mundi effort on
Telemann's behalf,
Jacobs' recording of the Brockes Passion. This is a far more modest project; three cantatas, adapted from their highly condensed published editions; two odes (for
Telemann, the equivalent of an art song); and an aria taken from the opera Eginhard. The whole is preceded by an Adagio movement borrowed from the Concerto for 2 oboes, violin & strings in E minor TWV 53:e2, perched like a cherry on top. Joining
Jacobs on this soft adventure is a group that would become more of an early music monster somewhat later, the
Akademie für Alte Musik, Berlin, which is clearly still learning the ropes here. It is a very restrained, even hesitant performance compared to the ensemble mastery found in its later recordings. While the music may all be
Telemann, the show is definitely
Jacobs', and by focusing on works that
Telemann designed with amateurs in mind,
Jacobs sets himself out on a path of vocal glory that is unlikely to be obstructed by the requirements of the composer. On the other hand,
Jacobs sounds a bit overqualified in this material, intended by
Telemann to be plain and ingratiating, and as a result, Capriccio's Telemann: Cantatas & Odes doesn't even come close to being at, or even near, the top of
Jacobs' enormous heap of recordings.