If Telemann had not left us with information about his stay in Paris, we would not have known much about this trip. For years, many musicians had been constantly inviting the composer to the French capital, when in the autumn of 1737 he finally packed his coffers and set off on a journey. In Paris, the Quadri and Nouveaux quatuors collections, which will be performed during a concert by Alessandro Tampieri, François Lazarevitch, Jarosław Thiel and Menno van Delft, gained immense popularity.

In his luggage, Telemann was probably carrying a gift for admirers, i.e. the New Quartets – composed for the same line-up as the Quadri from 1730 ä pieces that made him famous in France: transverse flute, violin, viola da gamba or cello and basso continuo – three melodic voices and digital bass. The Quadri circulated in a pirated edition, and Telemann’s journey was in fact on business, and indeed he pulled it off: he obtained an exclusive patent to print his own works in Paris for twenty years, which gave him control over the editions and the revenues.

Both collections – the Quadri and the Nouveaux quatuors – although they were probably created in Hamburg, are called “Paris quartets”. There is a certain point in this. Paris fell in love with both collections, and the latter was surely written for French musicians. In both cycles, Telemann mixes French and Italian styles with mastery. The French is obvious: from the use of the gamba through the frequent use of the form of the French overture and suite with French dances, pompous dotted rhythms, to ornaments and expressions typical of French taste (in the second cycle) are elements that pay a tribute to this tradition. The Italian style is used more subtly – in the Quadri the form of concerto and sonata refer to Corelli’s patterns, while in the Nouveaux quatuors opening the preludes have an Italianità flavor. However, Telemann remains above all himself – clearly tangible motives travel from part to part in inventive dialogues, polyphony serves to intensify the sound by thickening the texture, and the instruments remain independent and speak with their own voices, even when repeating someone else’s phrases.