The goal of the Telemann Festival Days in Magdeburg is to perform the works by Georg Philipp Telemann in concert with artists of international rank. The focus of the festival program is formed by full-length, magnificent compositions including operas, oratorios, passions, and cantatas. Telemann’s "absolutely stunning productivity" (Georg von Dadelsen) manifests itself in special measure in his cantata oeuvre. And in the cantatas heard on this new CD, recorded during a concert held at the next-to-last day of the festival, Telemann again proves to be among the eighteenth-century’s most important composers of sacred music.

Throughout his life Telemann collaborated with outstanding poets who wrote his sacred music texts mostly for complete annual cycles. This practice enabled him to design each annual cycle – seventy as a rule - with two cantatas for each Sunday and feast day, in accordance with distinctive program concepts. Telemann's compositions of great variety are often opulently endowed with a full instrumental ensemble and in this way emphasize the significance of each particular feast day. Telemann often goes far beyond the customary expressive intensity of the traditional two-part form involving the setting of biblical quotations, resulting in highly gripping and brilliant music!

- CPO [Translated from German notes]

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� In this latest installment of recordings focusing on the choral traditions of different country's choral music traditions launched last year by the Vokalensemble Stuttgart des SWR, we now arrive in sunny Italy, a country said to have no native choral tradition. � Giuseppe Verdi of course used choirs in his operas, but apart from that there are only a few choral works that have sustained any place in the repertoire, some of the finest of which are presented here. � With the beginning of the 20th century, however, one encounters composer's that are less well known, but whom have certainly composed some very exciting music for choir, including Pizzetti, Giacinto Scelsi, Luigi Nono and Goffredo Petrassi. � They all offer poignant, poetic, funny, mysterious, ironic choral works that are original and always interesting in their structure. � They show an Italy away from the operatic bel canto, but certainly not lacking in beautiful melodies.

Marcel Tyberg was an accomplished Viennese composer, conductor and pianist. Unfortunately, due to the conditions of World War II, Tyberg, only 1/16th Jewish, was sent to his death and his musical career was prematurely extinguished. When Marcel Tyberg was murdered at Auschwitz, his music was lost with him. Until now. Anticipating the Nazi movement in his region in 1943, Marcel gathered his friends in secret to share hi smusic one last time. One friend recalled, "There was a childlike joy and tenderness in him taht is only seen in great souls shortly before their return home. The tears ran down my cheeks. We all had the feeling that he will not be with us much longer." That night Marcel entrusted his compositions to a friend - including the two Masses, his only sacred manuscripts that exist today. Only a few days later, Marcel was captured in a night raid by the Nazi Gestapo and later counted among the millions murdered at Auschwitz. His music was kept by friends and eventually ended up in Buffalo, NY where the Buffalo Philharmonic began uncovering his symphonies in 2008. Tyberg's Masses reverberate the joy of a devout man and brilliant musician. Their late-Romantic structure and harmonic composition resemble other masters like Mahler and Bruckner, and their symphonic breadth encompass a vast range of human emotion. From the intimate iterations of "Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus" in both Mass settings, to the roaring organ solo in the "Sanctus" of the Messe di fascile in F major, to the painfully beautiful soprano solo in the "Agnus Dei" of the Mass in G major.

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� Excerpted from a Q&A with the late Colin Davis... Q: Sir Colin, Edward Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius is very popular in the UK but heard less often in Germany. Why do you think that is? A: That is hard to explain. As a young man, Elgar was quite famous in Germany. The work was performed in Dusseldorf. � Richard Strauss attended, and acknowledged the work's significance. � Perhaps Gerontius is less well known because the text appears to have come straight from the Vatican. � This work also addresses the issue of dying. If you think what it must be like on your deathbed, you start to dream - that is Gerontius' dream.

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Cavalli: 5 Magnificat and Other Sacred Works

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