ABS Discovery Series to Continue Next Sunday

The title of the next program in the American Bach Soloists (ABS) Discovery Series: 2023 will be A Musical Feast. The title of the program refers to the music that Georg Philipp Telemann composed under the title Tafelmusik, a term that originated in the mid-sixteenth century to describe a collection musical compositions played at feasts and banquets. Telemann composed three of these collections, all of which have the same structure. As described on the Wikipedia page for Telemann’s collections, each begins with “an overture for full-scale orchestra, followed by a quartet for three instruments and continuo, an instrumental concerto for several solo instruments and strings, a trio sonata and a solo sonata with continuo.” The collection then concludes with a set of movements entitled “Conclusion.”

Flutists Sandra Miller and Bethanne Walker against a background of victuals suitable for one of the banquets at which Telemann’s music may have been performed (courtesy of ABS)

ABS will present the first of these collections, whose overture is scored for two flutes, strings, and continuo. The flutists will be Sandra Miller and Bethanne Walker. The instrumental concerto will feature solos for flute, violin, and cello; and the string solos will be taken by Elizabeth Blumenstock and Gretchen Claassen, respectively. The flute will also be featured in Il gardellino (the goldfinch), the third of the six flute concertos, composed in the key of D major, in Antonio Vivaldi’s Opus 10, as well as in the trio sonata section of Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 1079, titled The Musical Offering.

The program will be framed by two ensemble compositions. The program will open with music that Georg Muffat composed for a ballet entitled “A Splendid Wedding.” The conclusion will be an overture in E major by English composer Maurice Greene, the founder of the Academy of Ancient Music. This “farewell” offering will also feature both of the flutists.

This program will be performed in San Francisco at 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 12. The venue will be St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, which is located at 1111 O’Farrell Street, just west of the corner of Franklin Street. A Web page for purchasing tickets has been created on the ABS Web site. Ticket prices are between $39 and $101.