Georg Philipp Telemann wrote his Advent cantata, „ Der jüngste Tag wird bald sein Ziel erreichen ”, for the 1717–18 liturgical year . He had already set the same words, by Erdmann Neumeister , in 1710–11. This time, however, he dispensed with an instrumental introduction (“Sonata”) and instead began with an accompanied recitative (“Canto solo”).

Compared to this expressive opening, the recitatives and chorales are kept deliberately simple, placing them within easy reach of relatively small ch...