Cantatas And Arias

Friedrich Christian Samuel Mohrheim was educated by the old Bach. The later Kapellmeister at St. Mary's Church in Gdansk combines the solid craftsmanship he received from the great Thomaskantor with the elegantly light tone of his time to great advantage. In the tenth installment of "Musica Baltica", Andrzej Szadejko and his Goldberg Baroque Ensemble again present world premiere recordings, including cantatas from Mohrheim's oeuvre, yet another highlight in this series rich in surprising highlights. Mohrheim must have been very busy in Gdansk; about a hundred works are documented from his pen, most of which he composed before he succeeded his father-in-law Freislich (MDG 902 2209-6) in the position. Today, many of these works are lost or have survived only in fragments. For the great occasions in St. Mary's Church, he also composed works for several choirs, such as the magnificent cantatas "Uns ist ein Kind geboren" (To us a child is born) and "Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe" (Glory to God in the highest) - entirely to the taste of his demanding Gdansk audience. But time and again Mohrheim finds enchanting timbres in smaller ensembles as well, from which the gallantly sensitive arias in particular benefit. Siri Karoline Thornhill, Franziska Gottwald, Virgil Hartinger and Stephan MacLeod once again provide an exquisite ensemble of soloists. The overwhelming sound in the Trinitatiskirche in Gdansk is also due to the large Merten-Friese/Wegscheider organ, which provides a rich foundation for the mighty choirs. The double-choir cantatas thus gain an almost unbelievable depth, which comes to the fore in an overwhelming way in the three-dimensional reproduction of this high-resolution Super Audio recording.