Susanne Von Dietze

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 works for viola da gamba of Elizabethan soldier and composer Tobias Hume are wonderfully eccentric, highly entertaining, and often deeply moving, but not often recorded, so new recordings are always welcome. This 2009 Hyperion disc by German gambist Susanne Heinrich may not be the most poetic, soulful Hume recording ever made – that honor would go to the incomparable Jordi Savall – but it is nevertheless a fine addition to the composer's catalog. With her warm but penetrating tone, polished but passionate technique, and acute sensitivity, Heinrich is a first-class player and interpreter, and her performances are wholly sympathetic to the music. Her account of the bleak "I am Melancholy" is as effective as that of the droll "Tickell, tickell," and her reading of the cheerful "Life" is as moving as that of the grim "Deth." Recorded in transparent and present digital sound, this disc deserves to be heard by all admirers of music for viola da gamba.

A tinge of nationalistic pride gleams through the notes and the selections of music on "Christinas Resa". Soprano Susanne Rydén is Swedish, as are most members of the Stockholm Baroque Ensemble which accompanies her vivaciously on these arias from baroque operas and cantatas. It's the superb singing of Susanne Rydén that makes this CD extremely attractive. Rydén has both the rich timbres of an operatic diva and the supple control of an Historically Informed performer specializing in the baroque.

Susanne Kujala is a German organist and classical accordionist living in Finland. She studied accordion, coaching, and organ at the HfM "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin and at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. She graduated with a Doctor of Music Degree from the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki in 2013.