Ensemble Meridiana Linn Records CKD 368***

Bach wasn’t the only 18th-century German composer to soak up the foreign musical manners that are attested to by the French or Italian adjectives in the titles of some of his works. This new CD focuses on Telemann as a master of French and Italian styles as well as a consummate practitioner of 18th-century fusion.

Dominique Tinguely’s note has copious contemporary quotations showering praise on Telemann’s work, even to the point of claiming that “an imitator of the French has at last surpassed those foreigners in their own national music”. The players of Ensemble Meridiana are appropriately international (Swiss, British, Swedish and Norwegian) and they play with real spirit and zest, though the sometimes unyieldingly straight manner of the recorder and oboe playing won’t be to everyone’s taste.

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