It goes without saying that Telemann had a thorough command of the French and Italian styles. Countless ensembles, including ours, have played such pieces. In ‘Barbaric Beauty’ we follow a completely different path by focussing on Telemann's Polish style. At least, this is how he described the pieces he wrote after discovering the music played along the Polish-Hungarian border. It was at the beginning of his career, when he was just 25 years old, that he heard sounds that were to inspire him throughout his life.

On this recording Holland Baroque Society meets Miloš Valent - specialist both in Baroque music and 18th-century Central- European folk music. They play folk music from the heart of Europe, and Baroque music influenced by folk music from Telemann, among others. This program demonstrates the centuries-old influence of ‘popular’ music on ‘art’ music: a kind of world-music avant la lettre. Supported by cimbalon-player and flautist Jan Rokyta, Holland Baroque Society and Valent show the influence of folk music on baroque art-music, and highlight two important aspects shared by both styles: ‘groove’ and improvisation. Alongside the Concerto ‘Polonois’, they present dance music from the folk-music collection Melodarium/ Szirmay-Keczer, melodies and dances from the Uhrovec Collection (1730), collections from which Telemann chose his favourite folk tunes. Beyond this, you never quite know what'll happen when Miloš arrives…