Tavern Dances – Telemann in Poland: A discovery of the Polish Style

Tavern Dances – Telemann in Poland
A discovery of the Polish Style
Musical direction, concept, programming, and arrangements by Judith Steenbrink

Tavern Dances is for curious listeners who want to get to know Georg Philipp Telemann from a different angle. After Telemann spent six months at the Polish court of Count Erdmann II von Promnitz, located in what is now called Pszczyna, he wrote in his autobiography: ‘when I arrived, I got to know both Polish music and the music of the Hannaken. This in all its barbaric beauty. If you were to write down everything that was played there, after a week you would have enough ideas for the rest of your life.’

Tonight, Telemann sounds folky, sparkling, elegant, crunchy and melancholic.