The oratorios by Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674) are pioneering works in the early history of a genre that combines sacred narratives, theatrical expression and musical virtuosity to create a new, dramatic form. Among the stories, mainly from the Old Testament, to which Carissimi refers in his oratorios, the lively tale of Jonah stands out in particular. During his divine mission at sea, the biblical hero gets caught in a storm and is swallowed by a whale. Carissimi shapes this material into a fast-paced plot with emotionally powerful solo recitatives interspersed with a complex series of choral passages - including an impressive double chorus depicting the storm. Who better to interpret Carissimi's expressive music than Giovanni Antonini, one of the leading conductors in the field of period instruments? The ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, which is dedicated to historically informed performance practice and whose instrumentation is specially adapted to the Bavarian Radio Choir and the unique tonal qualities of the oratorio, will also be taking part. Its artistic director Giovanni Antonini has been working with the Bavarian Radio Choir for many years and has performed highly acclaimed concerts with it with works from the early Baroque to the First Viennese School - and he also finds the perfect sound for Carissimi. With choral music by Claudio Monteverdi and Orlando di Lasso, this album also traces the development of dramatic vocal music in the transition from the motet of the late Renaissance to the more emotionally expressive interpretations of the early Baroque. The famous Lamento d'Arianna is the only surviving piece from the lost opera "Ariadne" by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), who reworked this lament into an equally expressive madrigal in 1610. Excerpts from the two legendary and mysterious cycles Prophetiae Sibyllarum and Lagrime di San Pietro by the Wittelsbach court composer Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594) conclude the album and allow us to experience masterpieces of the motet style, to which the Bavarian Radio Choir regularly devotes itself in historically informed performances.