Der Tod Jesu

Recent Researches In The Music Of The Classical Era 27

Kraus, one of the most original and talented contemporaries of Haydn and Mozart, was both a composer and a literary figure of the Sturm und Drang movement. During his university years in Göttingen, he was a member of the famous Hainbund literary circle and later became Kapellmeister at the court of King Gustav III of Sweden. Der Tod Jesu, for which Kraus wrote both text and music, represents an homage to Graun's popular oratorio as well as the conscious application of Sturm und Drang literary principles to music.