Come, come, my beloved, let us go forth into the garden; let us see where the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my love. Behold, thou art fair, my love, and my desire is toward thee.. These impassioned lines read as if they were taken from a baroque version of 50 Shades of Grey, but they are in fact drawn from the outspokenly sensual Song of Solomon in the Old Testament, the Song of Songs. Relaxing and heavenly music from the early 17th century for choir and small ensemble by Jacob, Hieronymus and Michael Praetorius. Especially Michael Praetorius can be considered as one of the leading German composers of the early 17th century (The familiar harmonization of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose E er Blooming) was written by him in 1609) Pablo Heras-Casado is among the hottest young conductors of our time and leads the worlds best orchestras. He was named Musical Americas 2014 Conductor of the Year and since 2010 alone, he has made a first appearance with nearly 40 orchestras, opera companies, and festivals, from the Berlin Philharmonic to the Boston Symphony Orchestra to the Salzburg Festival and more. How did the Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado first come into contact with this fascinating but still largely unknown repertory? When I was nineteen, I was keen to prepare some concerts that would include Protestant music from the period before Bach, an important period in European musical history, Heras-Casado explains. He was a young conductor at this time. While looking for suitable music for his period-instrument ensemble in the Spanish National Library, he stumbled upon some rare editions of works from this very repertory. Since then I have been fascinated by this repertory. For me, to record these pieces with the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor und -Ensemble is a dream come true. The Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble and Balthasar-Neumann-Chor (founded by Thomas Hengelbrock) is one of the most prestigious and famous early music ensembles. It can definitely be considered as one of the best groups in the world of early music.