One of the key transitional choral works in 18th century choral repertoire is Carl Heinrich Graun's 1755 passion cantata Der Tod Jesu, a setting of a text by poet Karl Wilhelm Ramler. At its debut, this work turned the typical German sacred cantata on its head; written by a German composer regarded as an expert in Italian opera, Der Tod Jesu represented Christ's passion with a kind of cool evenhandedness as opposed to the deeply tragic, often achingly chromatic kind of setting long established as the norm, and its reliance on chorales was relatively minimal. Immediately popular -- particularly among the nobility, weary of musical representations of pain and embracing the genteel -- the piece was published at once and remained a staple in Germany for over a century, until the popularity of Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas finally knocked it out of contention. Among the first to revive the work on recordings in the late 20th century was Dorothea Köhler and the Kammerchor Cantamus, Halle, with
Pál Németh, the
Capella Savaria, and a select group of soloists headed by soprano
Maria Zádori and bass
Klaus Mertens in this 1991 Hungaroton recording.