Passion Jaroussky marks 20 years since Philippe Jaroussky made his professional debut and commenced his rapid ascent to stardom. As the French countertenor says, “Even after all these years, my passion for music is undimmed.” Ranging musically from the 16th to the 21st century, the triple album comprises both new recordings and highlights from recent albums, and it also showcases Jaroussky’s collaborations with a host of major singers – from the worlds of both classical music and pop – instrumentalists, conductors and orchestras.

1723 marked the beginning of a new era: Johann Sebastian Bach was appointed Thomaskantor in Leipzig and was about to leave his mark on German music history like hardly any other composer. But first, Georg Philipp Telemann, the actual preferred candidate, needed to withdraw from his appointment in favor of Hamburg. Christoph Graupner, the jury's next choice, was unable to take up the post because he didn't receive approval from his employer in Darmstadt. It's hard to believe that Bach was only the third choice! Immerse yourself in the fascinating application process and slip into the role of the jury!

"As a piece from an opera" was the intention of the Protestant theologian and poet Erdmann Neumeister (1671-1756) in his Geistliche Cantaten (Sacred Cantatas), which he first published in 1702. No wonder that several composers of sacred music jumped at the chance to use his texts to fulfil their duties. The varied structure of the poetry, some of which rhymes quite drastically, lends itself well to musical settings, in which recitatives, arias, choruses and chorales alternate quite easily. As such, devout congregations could be presented with theological subjects in a non-ascetic manner.

"Denn er selbst, der Herr, wird mit einem Feldgeschrei und der Stimme des Erzengels und mit der Posaune Gottes hernieder kommen vom Himmel, und die Toten in Christo werden auferstehen zuerst". Dunkel und drohend lässt Telemann dazu den Donner grollen, den Zorn Gottes. Der Herr, der Richter naht. Es beginnt der Tag des Gerichts. Mit diesen Signalen hebt ein packendes musikalisches Geschehen an, das dem, der sich mit ihm auseinanderzusetzen gewillt ist, eine reiche, symbolgeladene Welt schönster, erfüllender, oft eigenwilliger künstlerischer Bewältigung von Wort und Ton eröffnet.

This CD features the world premiere recording of Pisendel’s Concerto in G major for violin, horns, oboes, bassoon, strings and basso continuo. Johannes Pramsoler is the leader and artistic director of the International Baroque Players and is one of a new generation of violinists specialising in historical performance. The ensemble was formed in 2009, from two prestigious training schemes, the European Union Baroque Orchestra and the Britten-Pears Baroque Orchestra.

Paul Dombrecht, Wieland Kuijken en Robert Kohnen zijn sinds jaar en dag klinkende namen op de internationale barokpodia. Zij behoren tot de internationale top op het gebied van oude muziek en verwierven een ijzersterke faam als solist, artistiek leider of musicus in diverse ensembles. Hun pionierswerk van weleer was en is de vruchtbare bodem voor de internationale weerklank van de oude muziek. Samen koesteren ze een warme symathie voor de schier onuitputtelijke muziek van Georg Philipp Telemann.

The crystal clear quality of Dorothee Mields’s singing has already graced many albums of German mid- to late-Baroque music. Her vocal quality, secure intonation and tasteful use of ornamentation characterise performances that are further enhanced by her sensibility to music and text alike.

Telemann surprises connoisseurs and lovers of his orchestral music again and again through his unusual combination of instruments and melodic ingenuity. There are still impressive pieces in his oeuvre that are not or only too rarely recorded. The Concerto Stella Matutina presents some of Telemanns orchestral art, which mix together principles of the concerto, sonata and suite genres. Founded in 2005, the Austrian Concerto Stella Matutina perform familiar and forgotten works from the 17th-18th c., extending to experimental projects in music and dance, often with artist collaboration.

The composer Johann Friedrich Fasch maintained a particularly close relationship with the court of Anhalt-Zerbst, where he served as Kapellmeister from 1722 until his death in 1758. The present programme focuses on the oboe: these are compositions by Fasch himself, such as an oboe concerto, a concerto for 2 oboes and smaller works for oboe, as well as works with oboe by Telemann and Bach, which are connected with the Zerbst court music inventory, Fasch's "Concert-Stube" (1743), and Fasch's tenure in Zerbst.

In her interpretation of Telemann’s Fantasias, Małgorzata Malke takes her listeners on a journey to 18th-century Poland, a land which Telemann often visited, drawing inspiration from Polish folk music. “In my interpretation of the 12 Fantasias, I decided to follow the path of Polish influences in Telemann’s compositions, looking for traces of the composer’s love for Polish music,” says Małgorzata Malke.

A famous French horn virtuoso in his days, the shadowy figure known only as ‘Mr Charles the Hungarian’ was an eccentric opportunist who travelled to Dublin in March 1742. A natural entrepreneur, he capitalized on the ‘Handelmania’ surrounding Handel’s residence in the city at the time, and produced a concert at the Smock Alley Theatre which consisted mainly of Handel’s music. This album recreates the programme and the bohemian atmosphere of the event, showcasing solos for various instruments, some of which had never been heard in Ireland before.

Mozart’s horn concertos are so well-known that for many listeners the sound of the horn and Mozart are virtually synonymous. Mozart was not the first composer to write solo concertos for the horn, however, and works from earlier on in the eighteenth century give a quite different perspective on the instrument. With this disc soloist Alec Frank-Gemmill provides insights into some of these early horn concertos, by composers ranging from Telemann to Haydn, by way of Mozart’s own father, Leopold.

The EXTEMPORE ensemble consists of three experienced and versatile artists involved in the historical performance of early music: violinist Małgorzata Malke, harpsichordist and organist Anna Firlus, and Krzysztof Firlus playing viola da gamba. The passion for chamber music, early music, and discovering the unknown prompted them to establish an ensemble in 2007, when they were still students of the Academy of Music in Katowice. Georg Philipp Telemann, traditionally a slightly underrated master of Baroque music, exceptionally well corresponds to the musical temperament of the ensemble. The album includes Telemanns trio sonatas and solo works, two of which are in a way new compositions only a few years ago considered to be missing arranged for the EXTEMPORE ensemble.

Gottfried von der Goltz, first violin and conductor of the first-rate Freiburger Barockorchester comes back with a new album dedicated to the violin sonatas of a young - and already brilliant - Telemann. Rarely recorded, these works show a very surprising form as they allow the musician total freedom of expression and ornamentation. These features demonstrate also the unique creative inventiveness already in germ in Telemann’s music.

1716 veröffentlichte Telemann Die Kleine Kammermusik, eine Sammlung von sechs Partiten für Melodieinstrument und Generalbaß. Was an Einfallsreichtum und Individualität in diesen auch für Laien gedachten Stücken steckt, haben Michael Schneider und seine Camerata Köln bereits vor acht Jahren mit dezenter Leidenschaft und profunder Stilkompetenz demonstriert (cpo CD 999 497-2). Nun stellt Schneider mit La Stagione Frankfurt eine Orchesterfassung dieser Musik vor, die Telemann Mitte der 1720er Jahre erstellt hat. Die Ober- und die Unterstimme sind dabei im wesentlichen unverändert, die beiden Mittelstimmen hinzukomponiert worden.