Georg Philipp Telemann

In 1965 the St. Luke Passion of 1728 was performed in the second anniversary of the Magdeburg Telemann Festival with modern instruments. Now the Cologne Academy has interpreted the work with a soft and transparent sound on historical instruments.

This passion illustrates once again the great care, imaginativeness, and theological understanding with which Telemann repeatedly occupied himself with the gospel account, always seeking to employ music toward the goal of conveying the Passion of Jesus Christ intelligently and effectively.

N.B. Booklet notes contain English translation of libretto

A celebration of the pioneering early music label Archiv, offering 55CDs ranged across the label’s entire 66-year history. Beautiful presentation, original jacket sleeves and documentation to the customary high standards of the label.

In more ways than one, 2013 will be an Archiv Produktion year. The beloved Silver Label – the “Early Music Studio of Deutsche Grammophon”, as it was called for many years – is being revived in a big way, both in frontline and catalogue. In early April 2013 an event in Berlin is being held to mark this relaunch. New albums from choral group Tenebrae, Anna Prohaska and Giuliano Carmignola are being released in the first quarter to coincide with this occasion.

Simple, striking and strong: in gleaming silver with the large blue Archiv Logo embossed on all sides. A large onsert on the top and back of the box details contents and is illustrated with a packshot showing contents.

Original Jackets: starting with the austere yellow covers of the 1940s and 1950s gradually giving way to the great historical illustrations and images that featured up to the 1990s, when artists at last began to make an appearance (there were no artist photos in the 1950s!)

The 180-page full-colour book has articles by journalist Nicholas Anderson, and “memoirs” by former directors of Archiv, Prof. Andreas Holschneider and Dr. Peter Czornyj, and Executive Producer, Marita Prohmann.

The book features many rare photos from Archiv recording sessions, as well as other memorabilia.

Born in Magdeburg in 1681, Georg Philipp Telemann rejected a vocation in law, insisting that music was to be his focus. An organiser of concerts and a publisher of musical scores, he was a highly versatile entrepreneur as well as a throughouly ‘modern’ musician, one who remained at the forefront of musical innovation throughout his career. Today he is widely regarded as Germany’s leading composer during the first half of the 18th century. This release is centered around four cantatas taken from the composer’s Harmonischer Gottesdienst (‘Music for Religious Services’), a collection of cantatas for solo voice, flute, oboe or violin, and harpsichord that, on account of its idiomatic writing for voice, its relation to the instrumental parts and the many indications concerning interpretation, rests among the great achievements of the period. One of Telemann’s characteristic skills was his ability to imbue the arias with the sort of brilliance that we normally associate with solo concertos (consider the radiance of the initial aria in Deine Toten werden leben), and this extends to his often virtuosic use of the recorder in the works – an instrument with which he was obviously familiar. Indeed, that Telemann was a more than competent player himself can be seen from the quality and quantity of music that he wrote for the recorder, and it is two of his lesser‐known creations for the instrument – the E minor Partita and the Trio Sonata in G minor – which form the remainder of this highly engaging disc.

Gemma Bertagnolli and Stefano Bagliano – both leading experts in the field of period Baroque performance – are the soprano and recorder soloists on this release, and are aptly supported by the historical group Collegium Pro Musica. The disc is a welcome addition to the rich assortment of Telemann recordings in Brilliant Classics’ ever‐growing catalogue.

"VIVARTE" is the 'Sony Classical' period music label, known for producing outstanding recordings on period instruments. The recordings by legendary producer Wolf Erichson are made with the best recording technologies available & by one of the best production teams in the world (Tritonus Music Production, Stuttgart). The box-set includes recordings with specialists in historically informed performance practice, such as Anner Bylsma, Gustav Leonhardt, Tafelmusik, Huelgas Ensemble, L'Archibudelli & others. The CD's are presented in paper sleeves with the original artwork of the former CD's. Tne box contains a x250 page booklet with tracklistings & the original liner notes of each recording.

Arte dei Suonatori’s previous collaboration with Martin Gester resulted in a highly acclaimed set of Handel’s 12 Concerti Grossi Op. 6 (BISSACD1705/06).

Georg Philip Telemann (1681-1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Self-taught, he became a composer against the wishes of his family. He was one of the most prolific composers in history and was considered to be one of the greatest composers of his day. His music is an important bridge between late Baroque and early Classical styles.

Works performed here are secular cantatas and opera arias, including rarely heard repertoire. The CD contains no less than 9 world premiere recordings! (Tracks 4, 5, 15-21).

Dorothee Mields is one of the leading interpreters of C17th and C18th music and is feted by audiences and critics alike for her unique timbre and moving interpretations with her flawless technique and the ethereal clarity of her voice.

The L’Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, founded in 1996, is a leading ensemble in the field of historical performance and has a special fondness for the music of Telemann. It is conducted here by its Austrian founder and leader, Michi Gaigg, a former student of acclaimed, Gramophone Award-winning conductor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Texts and translations are included.

This is the fifth release in cpo’s series of Telemann’s Complete Violin Concertos performed by Elizabeth Wallfisch and The Wallfisch Band. The seven works gathered together here are all from Telemann’s early phase of concerto production. This dazzling and spirited Telemann recording is proof that the renaissance of Telemann Concertos in recent years was absolutely long overdue.