Graupner: Bass Cantatas

Featuring

Klaus Mertens
Shalev Ad-El
Accademia Daniel
Johann Christoph Graupner

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Composer Biography

In 1722, Graupner applied for the position of music director at St. Thomas's Church in Leipzig, a post he was offered but forced to decline, leading to Johann Sebastian Bach's appointment.

Critical Reception

Graupner's compositions were not widely known outside Darmstadt during his lifetime, and his cantatas remained unnoticed until the early 20th century.

Compositional Technique

Graupner, like Bach, was one of the few composers of his time who continued to use chorales in church cantatas, often embellishing the melodies with independent ornamental accompaniment.

Composition History

Graupner composed over 1,400 sacred cantatas, with almost half of his solo and duet cantatas written during his initial years in Darmstadt between 1709 and 1720.

Composer Biography

Christoph Graupner, a contemporary of Telemann, Bach, and Handel, was born in Kirchberg, Saxony, in 1783.

Performer Biography

Klaus Mertens, the bass singer on this album, completed the first-ever recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's complete vocal oeuvre for CD, a project that spanned ten years.