Johann David Heinichen studied law in Leipzig, became associated with Telemann's circle and just as he, attracted so much attention with his Protestant sacred music that a trip to Italy lasting several years was granted to him to further broaden his musical horizons. In 1716, he was ultimately appointed court conductor at the Dresden court of August the Strong – a position that Johann Sebastian Bach, two years his junior, would have been pleased to obtain. The works on this recording include Heinichen's "Protestant" creative period, where more than two dozen German sacred cantatas of colourful design and expression have survived – from serious chorale movements to lyrical and picturesque settings that are not always completely "devotional".