Telemann goes East

In this concert, flutist Erik Bosgraaf and the filoBarocco ensemble explore traditional Polish folk music as seen through the eyes – or rather, the pen – of Georg Philipp Telemann. The composer was in fact fascinated by the music he heard on his travels to Krakow and Pleß in the early 18th century, including folk melodies played on fiddles and bagpipes, to which people danced in taverns.

Telemann’s manuscripts convey an impression of the “barbaric” rawness and beauty of Polish and Moravian folk music. Erik Bosgraaf and filoBarocco combine their profound knowledge of Baroque music and European folklore with a spirit of improvisation more familiar today from jazz concerts, bringing back to life the musical tradition that so deeply inspired Telemann three centuries ago.