Capriccio's Telemann: Cantatas & Odes finds illustrious countertenor
René Jacobs estranged from his established home base of Harmonia Mundi and seeming a little like a fish out of water. Joining
Jacobs on this soft adventure is the
Akademie für Alte Musik, Berlin, providing a very restrained -- even hesitant -- performance as his backing group in a program of some of
Telemann's vocal music; 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. 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. If you like
René Jacobs' singing, Capriccio's Telemann: Cantatas & Odes is OK, but a bit mediocre overall, and if you are a
Telemann fan, it probably won't do very much for you.