Handel set Italian texts naturally, English less fluently (those odd misaccentuations in Messiah), plus some Latin, but we rarely associate him with his native German. These nine arias are a response to the poetry that Barthold Heinrich Brockes published in 1721, and make an attractive set, covering typical moods from eloquent despair to extrovert jubilation. Marie Friederike Schöder rearranges their order to create three groups around Morality, Nature, and Love, ending with the exquisite Süsse stille, sanfte Quelle. Her tone is always bright and focused; her ensemble adds a violin sonata and a delightful arrangement for two lutes of some pieces for mechanical clock.
