Although Rosetti was noted primarily as a composer of instrumental music, his oeuvre includes several major works for voices and orchestra, including two oratorios, a cantata, a chamber opera, and a set of choral variations. His two oratorios, Der sterbende Jesus and Jesus in Gethsemane, both deal with Jesus's suffering and death on the cross. They are, however, very different pieces, dating from different periods in the composer's career, and intended for dissimilar performance circumstances.

Der sterbende Jesus

Rosetti worked on Der sterbende Jesus (Gl) during the winter of 1784–85. This was for him an exceptional undertaking. There was no strong tradition of vocal music at Wallerstein that he could use as a model. Other than the Requiem of 1776, Der sterbende Jesus was the only large-scale vocal composition he composed for the Wallerstein court. The Hofkapelle numbered barely a handful of singers, only one or two of whom were trained as vocalists. Most were members of the court orchestra or the wives or sisters of instrumentalists. Opera, which would have brought professional singers to the prince's Kapelle, did not exist at Wallerstein. Outside of music for the parish church, vocal music at Wallerstein was largely restricted to Lieder and the occasional honorific cantata.

What might have prompted Rosetti to undertake an extended composition for soloists, chorus, and orchestra at this time in his career? His recently renewed bid for the position of regens chori might have influenced this decision.