All the printed mass compositions of Johannes Nucius were destroyed by fire in the Himmelwitz Monastery in Upper Silesia in 1617. Copies had been made from two of them earlier, but these manuscripts were destroyed by fire during World War II.

MDG's premiere recording of the Missa Vestiva i Colli, the sole survivor among other composer’s masses, goes back to another copy made during those troubled times.

Johannes Nucius, an abbot and an exponent of Roman Catholic sacred music in Silesia around 1600, published many of his works in Prague and Liegnitz. Amongst his compositions, more than one hundred motets still exist today. His treatise on composition of 1613 brought him lasting fame and continues to offer us a fascinating glimpse into his compositional workshop.

The Alsfelder Vokalensemble was founded in 1971 by Wolfgang Helbich (1943-2013) as a mixed choir of up to sixty singers from throughout Germany who regularly come together for rehearsal sessions. Numerous concert tours, recordings, and radio and television productions have brought critical and public acclaim.