Credits:

Ira Hockman, Baroque Works Hamburg

Description:

Georg Kasper Schulmann was a German composer who was active at almost the same time as J.S. Bach. As a young man, he worked as a male alto singer at the opera house in Hamburg before taking up composition, performing a cantata at the completion of the Salzdarm castle in Wolfenbüttel; in 1697, he took charge of opera and church music in Lüneburg, where he was court composer and music director for the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, He returned to Wolfenbüttel as music director, where he remained for the rest of his life. Although he composed more than 30 operas during his lifetime, they are largely forgotten today, with only some overtures being performed occasionally, but in 2016, his opera "Faithful Alceste," with its universal theme of love and death, was revived at the Hamburg State University and received enthusiastic applause from the audience. This album is an excerpt from the complete work, but the rich harmony, meticulous counterpoint, and flexible treatment of the form convey the full appeal of the work. Naxos Japan