Johann Simon Mayr, born in Upper Bavaria, left a legacy of sixty operas and more than six hundred sacred and chamber music compositions. In the early 18th century, this extremely productive composer was one of the most successful opera composers in Northern Italy and his works were played all over Europe. It is all the more remarkable that he is practically unknown today. The quality of the music cannot be the reason, as is proved by the present recording of the Mass in C minor and the Stabat Mater. Excellent soloists, the Orpheus Vokalensemble und Concerto Koln under the baton of Florian Helgath do justice to the music.

A work caught the attention of musicians during the late 1990s - a Christmas Oratorio by Graun. The only known copy of it was being housed in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. But it has so far been impossible to determine either the name of the manuscript copyist or an exact dating of the work and copy. There are many indications that this is a work from the composer's phase prior to his years in Berlin. After The Death of Jesus, Thomas Gropper and his Arcis Vocalists now proudly present the second oratorio of Graun as a recorded production for OehmsClassics. Since their foundation by their chorus director Thomas Gropper in 2005, the Arcis-Vocalists have taken a firm place among the well-known semi-professional choirs of the city in the high-class and diverse Munich music scene due to their sound quality and the special program design. The project choir consists of about 80 committed singers, who mostly have a sound vocal education. Depending on the work it is flexibly occupied and can count between 30 and 80 members.