Special instrumentations inspired Telemann’s imagination. In the cantata “Herr, lehre uns bedenken” from 1720, he linked the opening chorus and the two arias with concertante parts for a viola d’amore. Well aware, however, that the rare string instrument would not be available everywhere, he considered a substitute solution from the outset and assigned the parts alternatively to the recorder.

Our edition allows performance using either viola d’amore (or viola) and recorder. It thus expands th...