French horns play a prominent role in this program of Georg Philipp Telemann's orchestral suites: the 'Alster' Suite is a suite "with horn quartet," and the horns frequently come to the fore in the suite for winds, 'La Chasse.' The hornists of the Berlin Academy of Ancient Music bring expert technique to the whole, and are certainly the stars of this disc. All of that is not to say, however, that the performances of the rest of the ensemble are at some lower standard. All of the playing is superb, and Telemann's evocative writing is brought to life to great effect.
The 'Alster' Suite is particularly ripe with examples of this--the "Concertizing frogs and crows," for one. Yet these vital and varied suites aren't all animal noises. They are above all baroque dance suites which draw on a broad palette of orchestral colors, and the AAM gives them justly splendid performances.
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