"Lulli is given praise, Corelli great acclaim; Telemann alone is above all fame." So wrote the music scholar Johann Mattheson in 1740. His claim was quite accurate: as the director of music of Hamburg's five principal churches, Telemann had less need to fight for recognition than ever. His leading role in the musical life of northern and central Germany was undisputed.

With this 5-CD collection, Capriccio presents some of Telemann's most important, sacred music masterpieces, comprising both early works and those from his later period. Telemann attempted to give each poem the music that it “could endure": as a result, each new "musical poetry" attempted to achieve a distinct, artistically appropriate musical setting.