The premiere recording of Paul Ignaz Liechtenauer's four masses, recorded by the Kölner Akademie under Michael Alexander Willens, received great attention and acclamation:
the portal "Klassik heute" awarded the highest rating and explained that the Kölner Akademie did "everything right" and that there was "nothing to criticise". The early music magazine "Concerto" judged the recording of liturgical works by the composer Liechtenauer, who worked as the cathedral conductor in Osnabrück from 1715 to 1756, as "very convincing and unobtrusive". The online magazine "klassik.com" is enthusiastic about the "lively and agile" interpretation of the Cologne musicians, which the Dutch newspaper "De Gelderlander" celebrates in its review as an "elite ensemble". German music magazine "Fono Forum" praised Michael Alexander Willens' sense of style as well as the "slender vocal and instrumental sound". The newspaper "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" is delighted about the "beautiful voices and the lively recording".
The CD was released by the label cpo in collaboration with Deutschlandfunk and has been available since autumn 2024.