Michael Alexander Wirlens, Kölner Akademie - Teleman: Oratorio Collection - Import CD

Credits:

Michael Alexander Wirlens, Kölner Akademie

Description:

In the ecclesiastical calendar of 1730/31, Telemann, who was the director of music in the city of Hamburg, presented a new work of special conception. The idea was to perform an oratorio at church services, not from a biblical text, but from a new poem. The oratorio for the feast of St. John, "Praise the Lord my God," TVWV 1:602/1216, was written by the poet and musician Albrecht Jacob Zell (1701-1754). Telemann adds wonderful music to the text with a wide range of expression using solo voices including three bass singers and a varied ensemble of instruments including four horns and three flutes. The lamentations of the Egyptians are depicted in a F minor melody with chromatic progression, and the tension is heightened by the use of 16th notes in the description of the fleeing people and their pursuers. The other piece is an oratorio for the second Sunday after Easter. The performance was given by the Cologne Academy under the direction of Michael Alexander Virens, who specializes in Telemann.The soloists, including Elena Harshani and Klaus Mertens, are also superb. Naxos Japan