The volume presents, as a first edition, Telemann’s surviving compositions for a number of public occasions in Altona. It contains two festive compositions written for the inauguration of the Akademische Gymnasium in 1744, one piece composed for the centennial of the Absolute and Hereditary Monarchy Act in Denmark (1760), one Latin ode to the King of Denmark for a school festivity in Altona, and an excerpt of two arias – the only surviving part of the music composed for the inauguration of Elias Caspar Reichard as Professor of Eloquence and Poetry at the Akademische Gymnasium (1741).

The edition was prepared on the basis of the known sources held at the Brussels Conservatory Library, new manuscripts contained in a rediscovered anthology of the Hamburg State Library including those previously unknown compositions, as well as printed texts which had not been considered to date from the Royal Library in Copenhagen.

The Foreword provides information regarding Telemann’s tenure in Altona. Also included is a catalogue of all related works. Moreover the volume contains a Critical Commentary, facsimiles of the printed texts and sample pages from the musical sources.