L'arpa Festante - Telemann: Sacred Cantatas (2018) [Hi-Res]

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) is one of the most outstanding German Baroque composers and was an influential musical force in the first half of the 18th century. After initial success as a musician in Leipzig, in 1712 he was appointed the city director of music and Kapellmeister in Frankfurt am Main. He gained widespread international fame by 1737/38 at the latest by performing several concerts in Paris. Of his over 1,400 extant sacred cantatas, the maestro composed at least 54 for bass solo. The L’arpafestantechamber orchestra, which has already earned international critical acclaim for its Splendid Harmonyalbum featuring works by Schützpupils, has now made a recording with bass-baritone and Telemann expert Klaus Mertensof further undiscovered sacred cantatas for bass solo with period instruments. Discovered in archives, some of these cantatas were reconstructed for the recording. The opening chorus and the cantata “All’s Glückund Ungelücke” for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, the communion cantata “Fliehethin, ihrbösenTage” and “Sollichnichtvon Jammer sagen,” as well as the cantata “VaterunserimHimmelreich,” an exegesis of the first stanza of Martin Luther’s hymn of the same name, are world premiere recordings. The cantata “Herr! erhöremeineStimme” was also recorded for the first time for this release and stands out for the remarkable dramatic suspense which builds up and is only resolved in the third movement. The CD is rounded out with further Telemann works: two quartets for 2 violins, viola and basso continuo, the Sonata in F major and the Concerto in E minor.

L'Arpa Festante
Klaus Mertens (bass baritone)