Throughout Lent, (the first one is Feb. 21 at 4PM) The Musicians In Ordinary will be performing the cycle of Cantatas by Georg Telemann from his Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst (The Harmonious Church Service) as part of Evensong services at St. John the Baptist Dixie Anglican Church. This music is rarely heard, and even more rarely heard in the context of a church service, for which it was originally composed.

Georg Phillip Telemann was a German composer contemporary with Handel and J.S. Bach; indeed, during their lifetimes Telemann’s reputation was much more widely renowned than Bach’s and, as is clear from friendly correspondence, Handel recognised Telemann as a mentor, he being 18 years older than Handel.

Telemann was church music director and composer for the city-state of Hamburg. Here he had to provide a cantata before the sermon, another after the sermon, and concluding music at the end of the service. The post-sermon cantatas for 1725–6 appeared as Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst. This cycle’s limited scoring (voice, melody instrument and continuo) made it suitable for churches with small musical establishments.

For the first Sunday we'll be joined by Emiliy Eng on Baroque violin, and Kate Haynes, Baroque 'cello.