Telemann, Complete Orchestral Suites, vol.3

A Universal Genre
If I hear the first part of a good overture I experience a peculiar elevation of my mood; during the second part my spirits spread out, full of delight; and when the serious ending comes along, they collect themselves and retreat to their usual abode. I think this is a pleasant alternation which an orator could hardly improve upon. A close observer might be able to trace these emotions in the mien of an attentive listener. (Johann Mattheson, Der vollkommene Capell-Meister, Hamburg 1739, p. 208, § 36) Johann Mattheson (1681–1764), the contemporary and fellow musician of Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), here puts into words what music connoisseurs particularly liked about a large group of instrumentalists playing together in the typical manner of a musical introduction to a French theatre performance: the beginning – nearly always marked by dotted rhythms – which draws in the audience with its broadly declamatory, harmonically rich presentation; the lively continuation based on the imitative texture of the various parts, which encourages a sophisticated manner of listening; and finally the return to the initial affect, often seasoned with a temporary harmonic deviation. This artful succession of concentration, distraction, and again concentration was an excellent way to prepare for what was to follow – a stagedpresentation or an instrumental suite.