It might be a bit of a generalisation, but I think it’s safe to say that an important function of composers before the post-Beethoven shift in societal roles was to provide music for events. This work was written for the re-opening/dedication of Hamburg’s St Michael’s Church, which had been destroyed by a fire in 1760. Two years later, the new structure was dedicated, and Telemann was drafted in to write some suitably celebratory music. Sure, it’s not the snappiest...