This landmark 2000 recording of vocal music both amorous and spiritual introduced a somewhat forgotten master of the German baroque. Caspar Kittel (1603–39) trained in Italy but returned to the Dresden court, taking the place of Heinrich Schütz when the latter spent a period in Denmark. Kittel wrote this exquisite 1638 collection of Monteverdian arias for one to four voices (to texts by the German poet Martin Opitz) as exercises for the court choir.

"At the heart of the disc lie two masterpieces, Arias nos. 6 and 12…. The text [of no. 6], one of Opitz's loveliest, takes the life span of the virginal lily as a metaphor for that of the deceased beloved…. The cumulative effect of the aria is quite overwhelming, particularly since it is given a magnificently committed and strongly projected performance by Stojkovic and Fink. No. 12, 'Geht, meine Seufzer, hin' (Go, sighs of mine, go forth), for two tenors, is also through-composed, and it too spans a wide emotional spectrum…. This marvelous disc introduces us to some outstanding music and music-making."—Fanfare