Even though Charles Gounod is now mostly remembered as a composer of the opera Faust, his main creative focus was church music. His sacred oeuvre eclipses that of his French contemporaries, but cannot conceal Gounod’s affinity for opera. On the occasion of the composer’s 200th birthday, Carus is re-releasing an outstanding recording by the chamber choir I Vocalisti under the direction of Hans-Joachim Lustig of the oratorio "Die letzten Worte des Erlosers am Kreuze" and other sacred compositions: works to which the composer was particularly inspired by his stay in Rome and the Gregorian chant which is very frequently heard there. Depending on the project, the chamber choir I Vocalisti consists of 20 to 60 vocally and musically trained singers from Northern Germany, who come together to perform challenging sacred and secular choral music at a professional level. Since its founding in 1991, the ensemble has performed in numerous concert series and has received prizes at national and international choral competitions, including first prize at the 6th German Choir Competition in 2002 and 1st prizes at the international choral contests in Tolosa, Spain in 2004 and in Cork, Ireland in 2009.