Wouter Joseph Smekens' realization of the long-unfinished "Die Letzte Passion" (1767; TVWV 5:52) by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1769) is a welcome addition to the recent movement in the musical community to revitalize forgotten or unappreciated works of the pre-classical era in Europe. While working at the Telemann-Archive (Zentrüm für Telemann-Plege und –Forschung) in Magdeburg, Smekens decided to investigate Telemann’s unfinished Last Passion. As a life-long Telemann enthusiast, Mr. Smekens leapt at the opportunity to bring Telemann's masterpiece to light. Since the Passion was incomplete, experts believed it to be unplayable. However, Mr. Smekens was not content to allow it to remain unknown to the world and he decided to finish the Passion himself. "It took me three years to come to a result," wrote Mr. Smekens. "Much was missing and the work was waiting for a believer like me." The work's world premiere was performed by the Capella Aurora in 1996 and the performance is available on compact disc. The recording of "Die Geschichte der Leiden und des Todes Jesu" Markuspassion 1767 deserves its rather majestic title. At almost 2 hours in length, the two disc recording presents the entire Passion in German, including the many delightful recitatives. The cast and ensemble are quite admirable, giving a consistent and enthusiastic performance. They are ably led by Mr. Smekens and their German diction is particularly lovely, at least to this author's ears. It is virtually impossible to distinguish Telemann's original music from Mr. Smekens' contributions. Mr. Smekens is a man of many talents. His interest in revitalizing lost gems extends to the instrumental world, where he restores, buys, and sells upright and grand pianos throughout the United States and Europe. From 1973 to 1989, he directed the ensemble Zampogna, which specialized in medieval music such as Alphonso El Sabio's Cantigas and can be found on compact disc. Mr. Smekens writes concert reviews and his work as a composer has included a well-received tribute to Philip Glass, "Happy Glassday".