Suite In A Minor

Little is known about the Suite in A Minor. It may date from the first decade of the 18th century, but wasn’t even published until 1936, when a general re-discovery of Telemann’s music eventually led to huge popularity for this concerto-suite for flute. It was probably written in response to a patron’s interest in music from Paris. Even though the work is opened by a French style Ouverture that sets up our expectations for a suite of standard dances like the courante, sarabande, or gigue, Telemann uses a cosmopolitan blend of French (Les Plaisirs, Réjouissance and the Menuets), Breton (Passepieds), Italian (Air l’Italien) and Polish (Polonaise) music.