The biographical traces left by Georg Friedrich Kauffmann are sparse. His birthplace, Ostramondra, lies between Erfurt, where Kauffmann was apprenticed to Pachelbel's pupil and successor Johann Heinrich Buttstett, and Merseburg, which became Kauffmann's place of training and activity for over four decades. Compared to the abundance of music Kauffmann must have created in these functions, the handful of surviving sacred works seems meagre, especially since they tell of a composer who was stylistically and technically up to date with his time and who knew how to use singing voices and instruments with great skill and effectiveness. In his cantatas, a great deal of space is taken up by contemplative accompagnato recitatives and beguiling arias with obbligato instruments. He makes effective use of trumpets and timpani with maximum splendour. A real discovery!