Cantata Ihr Volker Hort

Georg Philipp Telemann remains one of the most fascinating and yet controversial composers of the Late Baroque. Some ridicule him for his prolific but reputedly superficial output while others view him as a universal musical genius. The cantatas by Telemann featured on this release provide an insight into over 50 years of creative activity. All works featured here were written for the Reformation Day and the feast of St Michael (29th September). Three of the five cantatas have a magnificent orchestration with trumpets and timpani. Performing these magnificent works are the acclaimed ensembles Kammerchor der Erloserkirche Bad Homburg and the Johann Rosenmuller Ensemble.

The fifth volume of our complete recording of Bach’s cantatas completes the series of secular cantatas from the composer’s years in Leipzig. Seven works are involved here, spanning a period from 1725 to 1742, the year of Bach’s final secular cantata, BWV 212. Of Bach’s occasional compositions, some fifty secular pieces have survived, yet these represent no more than a fraction of what must once have existed. Indeed, there is no other group of works by the composer that has suffered such great – and regrettable – losses. In the case of more than half of the works that are known to have existed, only the words, but not the music, survived. Quite how many pieces may have disappeared without leaving any trace whatsoever is impossible to say.