Dan Laurin, Arte dei Suonatori - Telemann: Ouverture & 3 Concertos (2002)

The opening Overture (Suite) in A minor is one of Telemann's most ambitious concerted works, running to seven distinct dance movements in 30 minutes. The rhythmic shifts in the "Air à l'Italien" are pretty abrupt and really catch your attention. Of the three concertos, the Double Concerto in A minor for flauto dolce and viola da gamba is a standout, owing to its occasionally explosive gestures and knotty emotionalism. All of these works have been recorded numerous times, but most commonly on the standard transverse flute, but only the F major concerto was originally written for flute, and many versions of the Overture in A minor show signs of having been somewhat condensed. The only complaint with this disc is the lack of TWV (Telemann Werke Verzeichnis) numbers appended to the titles anywhere on the package or in the notes. These are imperative in understanding the difference between items in Telemann's output as he was so incredibly productive in the various instrumental and vocal genres in which he worked. For the record, the Overture in A minor is TWV 55:a2, and the three concerti are TWV 51:F1 (F major), 52:a1 (Double Concerto in A minor), and 51:C1 (C major).
One outstanding feature of this release is that the tone of the recorder is neither too shrill or sharp, a consistent challenge when faced with the manner in which digital recording equipment tends to pick up the instrument. Here Laurin's recorder sounds warm and woody with a little bit of ring to it. The ambience of the church belonging to the Senior Catholic Seminary in Jordanowo-Paradyz adds a glorious, natural, and dark resonance to the proceedings without room sound overkill.