Telemann: Ino Cantata and Double Concertos

This album presents a selection of orchestral and vocal works by Georg Philipp Telemann, performed by the period-instrument ensemble Florilegium under the direction of flautist Ashley Solomon, with soprano Elizabeth Watts and baroque violinist Rachel Podger as featured soloists. The program combines Telemann’s dramatic cantata Ino with instrumental concertos and chamber works, highlighting the composer’s remarkable versatility and imagination.

The centerpiece of the recording is the cantata Ino, composed in 1765 near the end of Telemann’s life. Based on a story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the work recounts the tragic myth of Ino, who flees her maddened husband Athamas after he kills one of their children. In desperation she leaps into the sea with her surviving son Melicertes, where they are transformed by sea nymphs into the gods Leukothea and Palaemon. The cantata is theatrical and emotionally intense, with a single soprano voice carrying the entire narrative across recitatives, arias, and dramatic orchestral interjections.

The album also includes two double concertos, showcasing Telemann’s flair for unusual instrumental combinations. The Concerto in E minor for flute, violin and strings features a distinctive five-movement structure, blending French elegance, Italian virtuosity, and the composer’s gift for melodic invention. The Concerto for recorder, flute and strings highlights the contrasting colors of the older recorder and the brighter transverse flute, a pairing Telemann explored with particular creativity.

Completing the program is a charming Sonata in G major for flute and violin from Telemann’s pioneering music periodical Der getreue Music-Meister (1728–29). Intended partly for amateur musicians yet artistically refined, the piece provides a more intimate chamber moment within the recording.

Together these works demonstrate Telemann’s ability to bridge styles and genres—from theatrical vocal writing to inventive instrumental textures—while illustrating why he was one of the most prolific and influential composers of the late Baroque era.

Florilegium
Ashley Solomon – direction, flute
Elizabeth Watts – soprano
Rachel Podger – violin