Taken as a whole, the works of J.S. Bach reveal his astonishingly fertile and proficient musical mind. Some, such as The Art of the Fugue, A Musical Offering, and The Goldberg Variations, show off his mind-boggling capabilities as a contrapuntist. His instrumental works reconcile staggering complexity with powerful simplicity, a meticulous counterpoint with ornate melodies that nonetheless sound improvised. The surface of Bach’s music, whether a shapely melodic gesture or an intricate web of interlocking, elaborately embroidered contrapuntal lines, guides and delights the ear. But the way that surface adorns an assertive harmonic design gives Bach’s music its commanding logic and power. Its craft ranks among the world’s greatest artistic treasures. While we’re fortunate that these scores survive for us to study and analyze, they provide only blueprints. Performers and listeners don’t just appreciate Bach on paper—his music demands the utmost from those who present and interpret it. We revel in the heightened sense of execution the music demands, and the challenge and complexity enrich the aesthetic experience. To see a Bach score on paper is to be dizzied by black ink; to hear a Bach score in the hands of experts is to be dazzled by the capabilities of the human mind and body. Two-hundred-seventy years’ worth of musical and technological invention haven’t rendered the splendor of Bach’s creations any less brilliant. Heard as sheer sound, Bach’s music is deeply satisfying. But part of the richness of these musical treasures is the way they transcend technique and pull us beneath the ink-speckled surfaces to engage with multiple layers of meaning. Even in his purely instrumental music, Bach’s natural feel for musical rhetoric begets clear, incisive musical sentences and paragraphs worthy of the greatest orators. It’s as if he is trying to work through something with us, in conversation.

Bach’s church music, which takes as its starting point a biblical or poetic text, expands into an additional dimension. His grandest texted church music—the B Minor Mass, Christmas Oratorio, Easter Oratorio, and his two extant Passion settings—are something different altogether. For centuries the Passion—the annual recitation of the account of Christ’s abduction, trial, and crucifixion—was delivered within liturgy as plainchant. In the Lutheran tradition prior to Bach, additional vocal and instrumental parts were gradually added. Though in 1721 Bach’s congregation in Leipzig would have heard a St. Mark Passion by his predecessor, Kuhnau, Bach’s St. John Passion, heard for the first time on Good Friday 1724, was a far more musically elaborate version of the story. The preparation required to perform one of Bach’s Passions surpasses that of many other works in the repertoire because they feature such variety and complexity, presenting manifold layers of music and meaning, demanding that the performers succeed in transmitting the extremes of human depravity, love, and uplift encoded on their pages.

So what is the St. John Passion? Bach’s core mandate was to deliver the text of John 18-19 via musical tones. While eschewing an operatic style (i.e., music that reveled in vocalism and virtuosity for their own sakes) he was still able to interpolate movements set to poetic, non-biblical texts. The St. John Passion opens with one of two heavy bookends: an extended movement for the full chorus and orchestra whose agitated, churning instrumental opening establishes an anguished, unsettled mood. He places another extended movement, a haunting lullaby, just before the finale chorale. In between, the musical material is presented in several layers, each with its own text type, purpose, and style. The foundation is the biblical narrative—the actual words from John, chapters 18 and 19, outlining the actions and conversations surrounding Jesus’s abduction, trial, crucifixion, and burial. An “evangelist” (a tenor soloist) and other figures from the bible (Jesus, Pilate, Peter, and a few attendants, voiced by other singers) recite this prose as music, in a form of heightened speech called recitative—mostly syllabic melodies tracing and amplifying the contours of the words, supported by bass notes and chords from a continuo group—organ and cello, sometimes with lute. Where the biblical narrative depicts something spoken by a group of people (a crowd, or a panel of high priests, for instance), Bach deploys the chorus (usually joined by the full orchestra). The movements of this layer move quickly, as do the actions they portray.

Bach intermittently pauses the biblical narrative and takes us outside the dramatic action via a second layer: solo arias. Here, the text is not biblical prose but highly emotive devotional poetry that reflects on some aspect of the action. Musically, these atmospheric movements are highly varied. In each, the instrumentation, tempo, and sense of gesture transmit the emotion evoked in the poetry. Here, Bach reaches into a curio cabinet of instruments, some of which were already considered out-of-date in the 1720s. Pairs of flutes, oboes, violas d’amore (violas with seven regular strings and seven sympathetic resonator strings that emit a halo of shimmering sound), and the plangent timbres of the tenor-range oboe da caccia (a predecessor to the modern English horn) and the viola da gamba, in various combinations, fashion sublime, singular sound worlds. Bach hoped that these subjective movements, delivered mostly in the first person, would help clarify the narrative and kindle devotion.

The remaining layer: chorales. These movements, sung by the chorus, accompanied by the full orchestra, present hymn tunes harmonized in four parts, with poetic texts. We don’t know whether Bach’s congregation sang along, but the tunes of these movements would have been familiar to all those gathered and would have evoked the feeling of congregate hymn-singing.

This three-layer scheme—recitative, aria, chorale—mirrored the way Lutherans in Bach’s time were instructed to first read scripture, then reflect on its meanings, and, finally, pray. The St. John Passion was the capstone project of what was surely a frenzied first year on the job as Kantor for the churches of Leipzig, during which Bach produced the first of several annual cycles of cantatas—choral-orchestral works combining biblical and poetic texts in combinations of recitative, aria, and chorale—at the breakneck pace of one per week. Bach’s congregation in that first year heard in real time his finessing the design of such multi-faceted works to increasingly amplify and underscore the texts of a given liturgy and their theological implications. Bach’s congregation would not only have been familiar with the Passion story itself but also would have arrived at Good Friday attuned to the imagery and devotional fervor of the sorts of poems Bach would set in his new composition. The composer hoped that hearing the familiar narrative nestled among poetic reflections and prayers, brought to life and heightened by richly varied music, would engender a multi-dimensional spiritual experience—not just a piece of music but an engrossing act of guided worship.

Neither theologian nor Christian, I won’t wade too deeply into the spiritual significance of the Passion either for eighteenth-century Lutherans or modern-day believers. But on the level of the music—its melodic-harmonic relationships, instrumentation, and structure—I would assert that nearly every note of the score seems to have been crafted to heighten the experience of the listener and underscore the theological concepts at the heart of Bach’s eighteenth-century Lutheran understanding of the Gospel of John. Thousands of pages have been filled exploring the relationships between the composer’s musical gestures and the theological concepts he was trying to convey, but for those approaching this listening experience as a Christian or spiritual one, it’s helpful to understand some of the theological concepts outlined in the various biblical commentaries and literature with which Bach was familiar. The opening chorus outlines one such concept: the paradox that “even in the greatest abasement,” Christ “has been glorified.” God reveals his salvation to humans in the cross. The bass arioso Betrachte, meine Seel (“Consider, my soul”), also leans into the paradox. The singer, amidst the looping plucks of lutestrings and anguished harmonic suspensions repeated by a pair of violas d’amore, asks us to “gaze without pause” on the thorns of the crown about to be placed on Jesus’s head and imagine that from them, key-of-heaven flowers blossom. Paradoxical metaphors such as “anxious pleasure” and “bitter joy” abound. The tenor aria that follows bids us consider the bloodied, flayed back of Christ and see in it the rainbow symbolizing God’s covenant with Noah. The violas d’amore and viola da gamba spin out broad arcs of sound and long floods of chromatic motion. The alto aria Es ist Vollbracht (“It is finished”) and other movements convey another theological concept: Atonement has been won for humankind by Jesus in the cosmic battle between good and evil (“the hero out of Judah conquers with might and has concluded the battle. It is finished!”). Here, at the moment of Jesus’s death, believers are assured they needn’t wait until the resurrection; atonement is achieved at the cross. Elsewhere, Bach’s handling of text and music highlights the sense that Jesus’s self-sacrifice frees humans from the bondage of sin, so that they might love one another. Consider the text of two carefully placed chorales: One asks, “How can I repay your deeds of love, with my actions?” while another states, “Through your prison, Son of God, must freedom come to us.” Other elements underscore the symbolism of Jesus as the Passover Lamb, the sacrifice of a sinless man. Bach’s music in the St. John Passion is at its most harmonically anguished, and most intimate, when asking us to confront the pain and suffering of Jesus and consider the role of our sins in them. The straightforward melodic and harmonic thrust of the chorales underlines the questions of broader significance posed in their texts. Being immersed in this music for the first time as a member of Bach’s congregation in 1724, one imagines, was to hear and feel the Passion story more deeply than ever before. So compelling were Bach’s formulations that they resonate even now, three hundred years later.

While some of us may be Lutherans, or Christians of another stripe, none of us are those eighteenth-century Lutherans who heard the premiere in the Nikolaikirche. We’re gathered at a concert hall in New Jersey in 2023. How does this piece resonate in this time and place? There is, of course, the music itself. Story and meaning aside, this exceedingly rich score contains some of Bach’s most expressive, colorful, and exquisite music. Those with a lens focused on the religious significance of the story will find moments designed to engender deep spiritual reflection. Though it’s nice to use music as an escape, my own engagement with this work over the last several months, in this particular moment in our world, has found me drawn into the story at the heart of the work. The bulk of the Passion—the reflective arias and chorales—rests on the scaffolding of that innermost layer, the prose of John, chapters 18 and 19. Bearing in mind that the unknown author of the Gospel of John is recounting this narrative decades after it transpired, during or after the First Jewish-Roman War of 66–73 CE, and that we are hearing it some two thousand years later, the scenes depicted in the text benefit from two contextual framings: consideration of the historical-political milieu in which it unfolded, and a review of the events described in the Gospel of John prior to these chapters.

The Jewish people of the Mediterranean basin had lived for centuries under the rule of various empires and occupying forces which imposed their own cultures—and permitted Jews to observe and practice their faith—to varying degrees. During Jesus’s life, Jerusalem was part of the Roman province of Judea, created in 6 CE, and had been a hotbed of intermittent rebellions. Pontius Pilate was its fifth Roman magistrate. At several points before the period recounted in John’s Gospel, Pilate took actions that knowingly transgressed Jewish law, inflaming Gentile-Jewish relations. First-century historians characterize the ruler as vindictive and inept, and several years after Jesus’s crucifixion, he would be recalled to Rome for his mismanagement of an uprising among the Samaritans.

Among first-century Jews in Judea were several sects disagreeing about matters of Torah interpretation; purity laws and practices; the balance between assimilation to Roman and Hellenic customs and adherence to their own; and the degree to which they should cooperate with Roman rule. The Jewish tribunal in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin, included representatives of various sects vying for influence, including the Pharisees and the Sadducees; the high priest Caiaphas; his father-in-law, Annas; other priests; and some aristocratic leaders. Several generations before, in the Greek period, the priesthood was shaken by upheavals and malfeasance to which these elites were wary of returning, including the deposing of priests and the buying and selling of the priesthood. The relatively long eighteen-year tenure of Caiaphas (one of two high priests named in the Passion narrative) suggests a productive working relationship with Roman officials wherein the Temple elites would deploy their clout to keep peace among Jews in Jerusalem in return for minimal interference from Rome in their religious operations. The strain on Jewish-Gentile relations arising in normal times from the strict boundary-keeping and purity laws was especially taut during Passover, the celebration of which drew many additional Jews into the city from the countryside. (The Passion narrative unfolds on the day before Passover). Moreover, by the time our story begins, Jewish authorities had had to deal with numerous claimants to the messianic title, some of whom assembled small armies and ended up being killed along with their followers.

Enter Jesus, a preacher from rural Nazareth, and his followers, from the towns on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and the countryside north of Judea. The second chapter of John recounts Jesus’s going to Jerusalem just before Passover and storming the Temple to drive out the animals and overturn the tables of the money lenders. (All four of the synoptic Gospels recount this action, but John puts it up front.) Such a demonstration surely didn’t endear him to the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem. The ensuing chapters of John describe a budding antipathy between Jesus (and his works) and the high priests and religious authorities in Jerusalem (the Pharisees, in particular, are named repeatedly). Jesus performed a series of seven “signs”—miraculous deeds, healings, and in the case of Lazarus, the resurrection of a dead man. While these acts garnered Jesus additional followers, rumors of them reached the authorities in Jerusalem, feeding their sense that he posed a threat. He ran further afoul of the authorities by performing some of these works on the sabbath (forbidden) and interacting with Samaritans, lepers, and other groups with whom pious Jews were forbidden contact. The text foreshadows the trials to come: The seventh chapter, for instance, notes Jesus “did not want to go about in Judea” because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. Several verses later, at the festival in Jerusalem, Jesus asks the “Jewish leaders,” “Why are you trying to kill me?” After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, John’s Gospel recounts:

The chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will take away both our temple and our nation.” Caiaphas, the chief priest that year, spoke up: “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

Jesus fled to the countryside. “But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.” When he reenters Jerusalem, as Passover approaches, the twelfth chapter reports: “Many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.”

In other words, the trial in Part I of the St. John Passion is neither the first interaction between Jesus and the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, nor the first time his death is considered. The St. John Passion opens with Judas betraying the location of Jesus to the Jewish authorities. He is interrogated and tried by the high priests, who then deliver him, bound, to the Roman judgment hall, where Pilate, the Roman governor, presides. The second, Roman trial in Part II unfolds as two parallel interrogations, one inside the hall between Pilate and Jesus and the other outside between Pilate and the gathered Jewish religious authorities. (The Jewish priests and officials, owing to their laws, would not enter the gentile Roman judgment hall, especially so close to Passover, so Pilate has to shuttle back and forth between Jesus, inside, and the crowd, outside). Both interrogations are confounded by evasion and oblique responses: The Jewish authorities lean on the grey areas of jurisprudence between Roman and Jewish law; Jesus tends to answer Pilate’s questions with further questions and pivot to a super-judicial, metaphysical plane. Pilate, portrayed more sympathetically in John than in the other Gospels, is left in the middle, deeply concerned about the increasingly restless Jewish authorities, but unconvinced that Jesus has done anything wrong, at least in the eyes of the Roman law. Eventually Pilate acquiesces and has Jesus whipped, beginning the process that will culminate in crucifixion. Roman soldiers dress Jesus mockingly in a purple robe and a crown of thorns. When the Jewish authorities start to question Pilate’s allegiance to Rome (“if you let this man go, you are not a friend of Caesar”) and ironically assert their own (“We have no friend but Caesar”), Pilate delivers Jesus to be crucified, placing a sign on his cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” so others might see it.

At the level of the drama itself, St. John Passion depicts the trial, conviction, and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth and the tender care attended to his burial thereafter. The singer and writer Pamela Delal crafted this summation:

The St. John Passion is a potent allegory of institutional corruption. A religious power structure that has lost touch with its founding principles becomes a collaborator with an occupying force, and marginalizes, then destroys, the reformer from within who speaks the truth and tries to bring the faith back to its roots.

Bach’s choices—the texts used in the chorales; his placement of those collective moments of reflection in the narrative; and his use of the same music to depict both the Jewish religious officials and the Roman soldiers, among other details—reinforce the notion of Jesus’s crucifixion being preordained, and not the outcome of one or another group in the biblical narrative. Bach’s design implicates all the listeners in Peter’s denial and in the outcries of the crowd leading to Jesus’s suffering and crucifixion. One of the earlier chorales, for instance, has each member of the chorus singing, “I, I and my sins, that can be found like the grains of sand by the sea, these have brought you this misery that assails you, and this tormenting martyrdom.”

Nevertheless, it has been difficult for me in rehearsal to demand clear, intense diction in the Kreuzige (“Crucify”) choruses. Hearing them performed with conviction sends chills down the spine. In my summary above, I referred to “Jewish authorities,” as the original Greek word of the Gospel of John, Iudaioi, translated by Luther simply as “the Jews,” could also be understood to mean “Judeans.” (Indeed the New International Version of the Bible footnotes the first instance of this term thusly: “the term traditionally translated the Jews refers here and elsewhere in John’s Gospel to those Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus.”) Whether or not the original Greek term of is a geographic signifier or a specific reference to the authorities in Jerusalem, the fact remains that the anti-Judaism of John’s account has been wielded and perverted, from early Christianity onward, into anti-Semitic persecution. At certain times and in certain places in history, Good Friday was a day of grave danger, when Jews became targets of violence and even massacres at the hands of Christian mobs. How many other groups and individuals at the margins of their milieux fell prey to (actual) witch hunts over the centuries?

Sadly, we don’t have to look far, in time or space, to observe the persistence of homo sapiens’ basest tribal instincts. Genocide, war, gun violence, and other atrocities are ravaging communities this very day. In just the last few years, gut-wrenching images of torch-wielding demonstrators spitting anti-Semitic slogans and violent crowds desecrating the inner sanctums of our institutions have seared themselves into our eyes not from history books, but from our televisions. Of course, such instincts manifest in softer, more insidious ways, too. What were once “dog whistles” and oblique nods now leave the lips of elected representatives without chagrin or subtlety. In just the last several months some political leaders have dispatched, with astonishing speed and ease, hundreds of pieces of new legislation that enshrine the scapegoating and targeting of groups othered and outcast.

Is this just the nature of the beast? Bach, at least, seems to hope not. The arias of his St. John Passion, delivering lurid texts via his most colorful, heart-rending music, and the chorales that respond to them, force our close confrontation with a peaceful prophet’s gory debasement and careful consideration of the implications of our misdeeds. To perform and listen to this work as a community—to experience its commingling of discomfort and pleasure and hear the many voices of the chorus deliver not just the savage cries of “Crucify!” but also the corporate contrition and devotion of the chorales—is to consider what we’re capable of, good and bad, when we get swept up in each other’s passions. In a musically heightened way, St. John Passion puts side by side humanity’s most repugnant and most generous inclinations. One hopes that Bach’s design leaves us meditating more on the latter. By the time the penultimate movement bids Jesus’s “holy bones” “rest well and bring me peace as well” Bach’s Passion has traversed the ambit of human attributes but underscored the one that, while rarely headline news, is as radical and necessary now as it was when Jesus preached it, as central to the survival of the species, and as admirable as the better part of our nature: profound, selfless love.

Program

St. John Passion, BWV 245
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

1. Chorus: Herr, unser Herrscher / Lord, our ruler

2a. Evangelist, Jesus: Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern / Jesus went with his disciples

2b. Chorus: Jesum von Nazareth / Jesus of Nazareth

2c. Evangelist, Jesus: Jesus spricht zu ihnen / Jesus said to them

2d. Chorus: Jesum von Nazareth / Jesus of Nazareth

2e. Evangelist, Jesus: Jesus antwortete / Jesus replied

3. Chorale: O große Lieb / O great love

4. Evangelist, Jesus: Auf daß das Wort erfüllet würde / In this way the word was fulfilled

5. Chorale: Dein Will gescheh, Herr Gott, zugleich / May your will be done, Lord God

6. Evangelist: Die Schar aber und der Oberhauptmann / But the soldiers and their commander

7. Aria: Von den Stricken meiner Sünden / From the bonds of my sins (Alto)

8. Evangelist: Simon Petrus aber folgete Jesu nach / But Simon Peter also followed Jesus

9. Aria: Ich folge dir gleichfalls / I follow you likewise (Soprano)

10. Evangelist, Woman, Peter, Jesus, Servant: Derselbige Jünger war dem Hohenpriester bekannt / This disciple was known to the chief priest

11. Chorale: Wer hat dich so geschlangen / Who has struck you in this way

12a. Evangelist: Und Hannas sandte ihn gebunden / And Annas sent him bound

12b. Chorus: Bist du nicht seine Jünger einer / Aren't you one of his disciples

12c. Evangelist, Peter, Servant: Er leugnete aber und sprach / But he denied it and said

13. Aria: Ach, mein Sinn / Ah, my soul (Tenor)

14. Chorale: Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück / Peter, who does not think back at all

Intermission - 15 minutes

Zweiter Teil (Part II)

15. Chorale: Christus, der uns selig macht / Christ, who makes us blessed

16a. Evangelist, Pilate: Da führeten sie Jesum / Then they led Jesus

16b. Chorus: Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter / If this man were not a criminal

16c. Evangelist, Pilate: Da sprach Pilatus zu ihnen / Then Pilate said to them

16d. Chorus: Wir dürfen niemand töten / We are not allowed to put anyone to death

16e. Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus: Auf daß erfüllet würde das Wort / In this way was fulfilled the words

17. Chorale: Ach großer König / Ah, great king

18a. Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus: Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm / Then Pilate said to him

18b. Chorus: Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam / Not this man, but Barrabas

18c. Evangelist: Barrabas aber war ein Mörder / Now Barrabas was a murderer

19. Arioso: Betrachte, meine Seel / Consider, my soul (Bass)

20. Aria: Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken / Ponder well how his back bloodstained (Tenor)

21a. Evangelist: Und die Kriegsknechte flochten eine Krone / And the soldiers wove a crown

21b. Chorus: Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig / Hail to you, king of the Jews

21c. Evangelist, PIlate: Und gaben ihm Backenstreiche / And they gave him blows with their hands

21d. Chorus: Kreuzige, kreuzige / Crucify, crucify

21e. Evangelist, Pilate: Pilatus sprach zu ihnen / Pilate said to them

21f. Chorus: Wir haben ein Gesetz / We have a law

21g. Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus: Da PIlatus das Wort hörete / When Pilate heard what they said

22. Chorale: Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn / Through your imprisonment, son of God

23a. Evangelist: Die Jüden aber schrieen und sprachen / But the Jews cried out and said

23b. Chorus: Lässest du diesen los / If you release this man

23c. Evangelist, Pilate: Da Pilatus das Wort hörete / When Pilate heard what they said

23d. Chorus: Weg, weg mit dem / Away with him

23e. Evangelist, Pilate: Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen / Pilate said to them

23f. Chorus: Wir haben keinen König denn den Kaiser / We have no king but Caesar

23g. Evangelist: Da überantwortete er ihn / Then he handed him over

24. Aria: Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen / Hurry, you tormented souls

25a. Evangelist: Allda kreuzigten sie ihn / There they crucified him

25b. Chorus: Schreibe nicht: der Jüden König / Do not write: the king of the Jews

25c. Evangelist, Pilate: Pilatus antwortet / Pilate replied

26. Chorale: In meines Herzens Grunde / In the depths of my heart

27a. Evangelist: Die Kriegsknechte aber / Then the soldiers

27b. Chorus: Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen / Let us not tear it

27c. Evangelist, Jesus: Auf dass erfüllet würde die Schrift / So that the scripture might be fulfilled

28. Chorale: Er nahm alles wohl in acht / He thought carefully of everything

29. Evangelist, Jesus: Und von Stund an nahm sie der Jünger zu sich / And from that hour the disciple took her to himself

30. Aria: Es ist vollbracht / It is accomplished (Alto)

31. Evangelist: Und neiget das Haupt / And he bowed his head

32. Aria: Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen / My beloved savior, let me ask you (Bass)

33. Evangelist: Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel zerriß / And see, the curtain in the Temple was torn

34. Arioso: Mein Herz, in dem die ganze Welt / My heart, while the whole world (Tenor)

35. Aria: Zerfließe, mein Herze / Dissolve, my heart (Soprano)

36. Evangelist: Die Jüden aber, dieweil es der Rüsttag war / But the Jews, because it was the day of preparation

37. Chorale: O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn / Oh help, Christ, God's son.

38. Evangelist: Darnach bat Pilatum Joseph von Arimathia / Then Joseph of Arimathia asked Pilate

39. Chorus: Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine / Rest in peace, you sacred limbs

40. Chorale: Ach Herr, lass dein lieb Engelein / Ah Lord, let your dear angels

Soloists

Chicago-based tenor Steven Caldicott Wilson has been a member of the twice GRAMMY-nominated quartet New York Polyphony since 2011. He was a soloist with Cleveland’s Apollo's Fire in fall 2022 (Monteverdi Vespers and Handel Messiah), and an inaugural member of The Leonids with Chor Leoni Vancouver in May 2022, where he will return in 2023. Past solo appearances include Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Symphony Hall Boston, Chatham Baroque, TENET Vocal Artists, Clarion Orchestra NYC, and multiple Evangelist roles and Bach cantata recitals with Trinity Baroque Orchestra in NYC and Montreal.

Founded in 2006, New York Polyphony is dedicated to historical performance and recording of medieval and renaissance repertoire as well as modern commissions and educational outreach. Noteworthy engagements include the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Boston, 2013 Taipei International Choral Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Wigmore and Cadogan Halls London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg (Germany), Festival Internacional de Música Abvlensis (Spain), Stavanger Kammermusikkfestival (Norway), Cartagena Festival International de Música (Colombia), and Early Music Vancouver.

Steven is an enlisted veteran of the United States Air Force Band Singing Sergeants (2001-2005) and a graduate of Ithaca College (BM) and Yale University (MM). scwtenor.com

Will Doreza is a baritone with experience as both concert soloist and ensemble musician. A recent graduate of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music program in Early Music, Oratorio and Chamber Music, Will has performed as a soloist and member of the Yale Schola Cantorum, with conductors such as Masaaki Suzuki, Simon Carrington, Nic McGegan, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Festival highlights include the Bachfest Leipzig in a performance of Mendelssoh’s Elijah with the Bach Collegium Japan, the Staunton Music Festival, premi

eres at the Hartford Women Composers Festival, several performances in the Spoleto Festival USA with the Westminster Choir, and the Uncommon Music Festival in Sitka, Alaska. Recent and upcoming engagements include projects with The Crossing, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Will currently serves as the Interim Director of Music at St. Paul’s on the Green in Norwalk, CT, and spends his free time building instruments.

Baritone Jesse Blumberg enjoys a busy schedule of opera, concerts, and recitals, performing repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque to the 20th and 21st centuries. His performances have included the world premiere of The Grapes of Wrath at Minnesota Opera, Bernstein’s MASS at London’s Royal Festival Hall, various productions with Boston Early Music Festival, and featured roles with Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Atelier, and Boston Lyric Opera. Jesse has made concert appearances with American Bach Soloists, Boston Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Oratorio Society of New York, Montréal Baroque Festival, Arion Baroque, Early Music Vancouver, Pacific MusicWorks, and on Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. His recital highlights include appearances with the Marilyn Horne Foundation and New York Festival of Song, and performances of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz. Jesse has given the world premieres of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Green Sneakers, Lisa Bielawa’s The Lay of the Love and Death, Conrad Cummings’ Positions 1956, and Tom Cipullo’s Excelsior, and works closely with several other renowned composers as a member of the Mirror Visions Ensemble.

During the busy 2022-2023 season, Jesse returns to Boston Early Music Festival for their opera production, Circé, returns to Boston Baroque as Oreste in Iphigénie en Tauride, and brings his celebrated interpretation of Handel’s Messiah to Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall and to Grand Philharmonic Choir (Kitchener, Ontario). He will also perform a number of recitals with pianist Martin Katz throughout the United States, and tour internationally with Mirror Visions Ensemble. The 2021-2022 season included debuts with Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Grand Rapids Symphony, and returns to Boston Early Music Festival, Opera Atelier, and Mirror Visions Ensemble.

“Silken voiced” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) soprano Madeline Apple Healey is known for her “gorgeous singing" (Washington Post) and “fetching combination of vocal radiance and dramatic awareness” (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Delighted by early and contemporary repertoire, Madeline is passionate about polyphony and loves working on music that challenges the construct of beautiful sound.

Spring 2023 brings a return to the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, a reprise of Huong Ruo’s Book of Mountains and Seas with Ars Nova Copenhagen, the modern premiere of a Scottish ballad opera with Makaris, polyphony and part songs in Vermont with AMPERSAND and collaborator Timothy Parsons, and an international tour of Handel’s Solomon with Clarion and The English Concert. Highlights from the last several years include appearances at Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, PROTOTYPE Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Charlotte Bach Festival, Ad Astra Festival, and LA Opera, as well as collaborations with the New Consort, New Chamber Ballet, Pegasus Early Music, TENET, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Amor Artis, the Academy of Sacred Drama, and L’Academie du Roi Soleil. Operatic credits include Olympia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), La Musica & Eurydice (L'Orfeo), Hébé (Les Indes galantes), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Despina (Così fan tutte), and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro). She is a member of the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, co-founder of the vocal chamber ensemble AMPERSAND, and performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician.

Beyond performing, Madeline is an outdoorswoman and environmental advocate. She is thrilled to be making trips to climb in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the Dolomites this year. A native of Cleveland, OH, she now resides in New York where, whether in the city or the Adirondacks, she can often be found cooking, plotting her next climb, eating french fries, and spending time with her husband Teddy and their many houseplants.

Praised for her “inimitable, resonant contralto” (Phindie), “particularly moving singing” (Cleveland Classical), and “mysterious, dark hue and sauntering presence” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Robin Bier enjoys a varied career of solo and ensemble singing with an emphasis on the music of the Renaissance, Baroque, and the present day.

Robin has appeared as a soloist with the American Bach Soloists, Washington Bach Consort, Sarasota Orchestra, Philadelphia Bach Collegium, Cantata Collective, Bourbon Baroque, Dartington Festival Orchestra, English Symphony Orchestra, Baroque Collective, Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, and Brandywine Baroque, among others. As an ensemble singer, Robin has performed and recorded with such ensembles as the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Everlasting Voices, Clarion, Musica Secreta, I Fagiolini, Apollo’s Fire, Choral Arts Philadelphia, the Ebor Singers, Ensemble VIII, and the chorus of Opera Philadelphia. During her postgraduate studies in England she became the first woman to sing with the Lay Clerks of Ripon Cathedral, with the unintended consequence of being frequently mistaken for a countertenor.

Robin is co-founder and alto of solo-voice early music ensemble Les Canards Chantants, with whom she has collaborated with ACRONYM, Parthenia Viol Consort, Pellingman’s Saraband, and the Folger Consort, and garnered praise for ‘elegant vocalism’ (Philadelphia Inquirer), ‘finely tuned vocals, robust singing, emotional flexibility, and sense of adventure’ (Broad Street Review), ‘brilliant and moving programming’ (Early Music America), and ‘liveliness and theatricality’ (Boston Musical Intelligencer).

Originally from Alaska, Robin attended the Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, where she entered as a pianist and departed as a singer with an additional BA in environmental studies. She later earned her MA in solo-voice ensemble singing and PhD in Musicology from the University of York in England. Now based in Philadelphia, her daily activities include maintaining a private voice studio, coaching the Choristers at Bryn Athyn Cathedral, and prowling the trails of the Pennypack Nature Preserve with husband Graham and son Roland.

https://www.robinbier.com/

Noted for his “silken tenor”(Opera News), Eric Finbarr Carey is the most recent winner of the Meyerson Zwanger award and 2nd prize in the New York Oratorio Society competition at Carnegie Hall.

This season he presents a varied repertoire of the Renaissance to music being written today. This season in concert, Carey will be the tenor soloist in Bach St. John Passion with Princeton Pro Musica conducted by Maestro Ryan Brandau, and will sing Evangelist in the same piece with Bach in Baltimore. As a 2022-23 artist with Bach in Baltimore he will sing as tenor soloist in various Bach cantatas, and present two recitals with the group. He was tenor soloist in the world premiere of the lost mass of Orlandini and Handel’s Dixit Dominus with Upper Valley Baroque, where he returns this spring as soloist in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. He will perform and record the world premiere of Andrew Faulkenberry’s oratorio The Crooked Cross in 2023.

An Avid recitalist with “captivating vocal quality”(Operawire), he will sing a series of solo recitals this spring with pianist partner Bethany Pietroniro in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and the Hudson Valley, and will also present a recital of Monteverdi, Händel, Caccini and Air de Cour with Theorbist Richard Stone of Tempesta di Mare.

A specialist in the music of Benjamin Britten, this fall Carey sang in two of his operas: the role of Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw with Opera Baltimore, and the Tempter in Enigma Opera’s The Prodigal Son, as well as concert performances with Boston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players in Britten’s Canticle V. This spring he will sing Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Concerts in the Village. Carey was a two-time fellow at the Britten-Pears Programme in Aldeburgh, UK with mentorship from Mark Padmore and Roderick Williams.

Carey made notable debuts in the 2020/21 season on both the concert and operatic stages. He appeared as the tenor soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andris Nelsons in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, with Emmanuel Music in Bach’s B Minor Mass, and Odyssey Opera with a “very strong performance”(Gramophone UK) which was “an oasis of lyricism” (Bachtrack) in the world premiere of The Chronicle of Nine. Carey has held residencies in the Renée Fleming Song Studio at Carnegie Hall, the Britten-Pears Festival Young Artist Program, and Tanglewood Music Center as a two time fellow.

At Tanglewood, he had the pleasure of working extensively with Dawn Upshaw, Margo Garrett, and Alan Smith. As a second-year fellow, he was featured in the American premiere of Richard Ayres’s The Cricket Recovers conducted by Thomas Adés and a concert of Bach Cantatas with John Harbison. Other performances include Les illuminations with The Orchestra Now, and Tom Rakewell (The Rake’s Progress), Alfredo (La traviata), Thibodeau (Dolores Claiborne) and Schoolmaster (The cunning little vixen) with the Opera Institute at Boston University, where he was in residence. Awards include 2nd place in the Gerda Lissner Song Competition, the Grand Finals at the Joy in Singing Competition, and First Place at both the Sparks and Wiry Cries Song Slam Competition and the Bard College Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition. He also received a grant from Boston University as one of the winners of the 2020 Kahn grant. He holds degrees from Bard College, Boston University, and Peabody Conservatory/The Johns Hopkins University. He is currently based in Philadelphia.

Text and Translation

From the website Bach Cantatas Website

English Translation by Francis Browne (April 2006)
Used with permission from Francis Browne (2023)

ERSTER TEIL

Johannes 18. 1-14

FIRST PART

St. John 18: 1-14

1. Chor

Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm in allen Landen herrlich ist!

Zeig uns durch deine Passion, Dass du, der wahre Gottessohn, zu aller Zeit, auch in der größten Niedrigkeit, verherrlicht worden bist!

1. Chorus

Lord, our ruler, whose glory is magnificent everywhere!

Show us through your passion, that you, the true son of God, at all times even in the most lowly state, are glorified.

2a. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern über den Bach Kidron,da war ein Garten, darein ging Jesus und seine Jünger. Judas aber, der ihn verriet, wusste den Ort auch, denn Jesus versammlete sich oft daselbst mit seinen Jüngern. Da nun Judas zu sich hatte genommen die Schar und der Hohenpriester und Pharisäer Diener, kommt er dahin mit Fackeln, Lampen und mit Waffen. Als nun Jesus wusste alles, was ihm begegnen sollte, ging er hinaus und sprach zu ihnen:

Jesus

Wen suchet ihr?

Evangelist

Sie antworteten ihm:

2a. Recitative

Evangelist

Jesus went with his disciples over the brook Kidron where there was a garden which Jesus and his disciples entered. But Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. Now Judas had got a band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees and he came to the place with lanterns, torches and weapons. As Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him he came forward and said to them:

Jesus

Who are you looking for?

Evangelist

They answered him:

2b. Chor:

Jesum von Nazareth.

2b. Chorus:

Jesus of Nazareth.

2c.

Evangelist

Jesus spricht zu ihnen:

Jesus

Ich bin's.

Evangelist

Judas aber, der ihn verriet, stund auch bei ihnen. Als nun Jesus zu ihnen sprach: Ich bin's, wichen sie zurücke und fielen zu Boden. Da fragete er sie abermal:

Jesus

Wen suchet ihr?

Evangelist

Sie aber sprachen:

2c.

Evangelist

Jesus said to them:

Jesus

I am he.

Evangelist

But Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he”, they moved back and fell to the ground. He asked them a second time:

Jesus

Who are you looking for?

Evangelist

And they said:

2d. Chor

Jesum von Nazareth.

2d. Chorus

Jesus of Nazareth.

2e. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Jesus antwortete:

Jesus

Ich hab's euch gesagt, dass ich's sei,
suchet ihr denn mich, so lasset diese gehen!

2e. Recitative

Evangelist

Jesus replied:

Jesus

I have told you that I am he
If you are looking for me, then let these go!

3. Choral

O große Lieb, o Lieb ohn alle Maße,
Die dich gebracht auf diese Marterstraße
Ich lebte mit der Welt in Lust und Freuden,
Und du musst leiden.

3. Chorale

O great love, o love without any limits,
that has brought you along this way of martyrdom
I live with the world in pleasure and delight,
and you must suffer.

4. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Auf dass das Wort erfüllet würde, welches er sagte: Ich habe der keine verloren, die du mir gegeben hast. Da hatte Simon Petrus ein Schwert und zog es aus und schlug nach des Hohenpriesters Knecht und hieb ihm sein recht Ohr ab; und der Knecht hieß Malchus. Da sprach Jesus zu Petro:

Jesus

Stecke dein Schwert in die Scheide! Soll ich den Kelch nicht trinken, den mir mein Vater gegeben hat?

4. Recitative

Evangelist

In this way the word was fulfilled which said: I have lost none of those which you gave to me. Then Simon Peter had a sword and he drew it out and struck the chief priest’s servant and cut off his right ear; and the servant was called Malchus. Then Jesus said to Peter:

Jesus

Put up your sword in its scabbard! Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me?

5. Choral

Dein Will gescheh, Herr Gott, zugleich
Auf Erden wie im Himmelreich.
Gib uns Geduld in Leidenszeit,
Gehorsam sein in Lieb und Leid;
Wehr und steur allem Fleisch und Blut,
Das wider deinen Willen tut!

5. Chorale

May your will be done, Lord God,
Both on earth as in heaven.
grant us patience in time of sorrow,
obedience in love and sorrow,
restrain and guide our flesh and blood
that acts against your will.

6. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Die Schar aber und der Oberhauptman und die Diener der Jüden nahmen Jesum und bunden ihn und führeten ihn aufs erste zu Hannas, der war Kaiphas Schwäher, welcher des Jahres Hoherpriester war. Es war aber Kaiphas, der den Jüden riet, es wäre gut, dass ein Mensch würde umbracht für das Volk.

6. Recitative

Evangelist

But the soldiers and their commander and the servants of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him and led him first to Annas who was the father-in-law of Caiphas – this man was the chief priest that year. It was Caiphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

7. Arie (Alt)

Von den Stricken meiner Sünden

Mich zu entbinden, Wird mein Heil gebunden.

Mich von allen Lasterbeulen

Völlig zu heilen, Läßt er sich verwunden

7. Alto Aria

From the bonds of my sins

to set me free my Saviour is bound.

From all infections of vice to heal me completely

he gives himself to be wounded.

8. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Simon Petrus aber folgete Jesu nach und ein ander Jünger.

8. Recitative

Evangelist

But Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.

9. Arie (Sopran)

Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten
Und lasse dich nicht,
Mein Leben, mein Licht.
Befördre den Lauf
Und höre nicht auf,
Selbst an mir zu ziehen, zu schieben, zu bitten.

9. Soprano Aria

I follow you likewise with joyful steps
and do not leave you
my life, my light.
Bring me on my way
and do not cease
to pull, push and urge me on.

10. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Derselbige Jünger war dem Hohenpriester bekannt und ging mit Jesu hinein in des Hohenpriesters Palast. Petrus aber stund draußen für der Tür. Da ging der andere Jünger, der dem Hohenpriester bekannt war, Hinaus und redete mit der Türhüterin und führete Petrum hinein. Da sprach die Magd, die Türhüterin, zu Petro:

Ancilla

Bist du nicht dieses Menschen Jünger einer?

Evangelist

Er sprach:

Petrus

Ich bin's nicht.

Evangelist

Es stunden aber die Knechte und Diener und hatten ein Kohlfeu'r gemacht (denn es war kalt)und wärmeten sich. Petrus aber stund bei ihnen und wärmete sich. Aber der Hohepriester fragte Jesum um seine Jünger und um seine Lehre. Jesus antwortete ihm:

Jesus

Ich habe frei, öffentlich geredet für der Welt. Ich habe allezeit gelehret in der Schule und in dem Tempel, da alle Jüden zusammenkommen, und habe nichts im Verborgnen geredt. Was fragest du mich darum? Frage die darum, die gehöret haben, was ich zu ihnen geredet habe! Siehe, dieselbigen wissen, was ich gesaget habe.

Evangelist

Als er aber solches redete, gab der Diener einer, die dabeistunden, Jesu einen Backenstreich und sprach:

Servant

Solltest du dem Hohenpriester also antworten?

Evangelist

Jesus aber antwortete:

Jesus

Hab ich übel geredt, so beweise es, dass es böse sei, hab ich aber recht geredt, was schlägest du mich?

10. Recitative

Evangelist

This disciple was known to the chief priest and he went along with Jesus into the palace of the chief priest. But Peter stood without by the door. then the other disciple who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the woman in charge of the door and led Peter within. Then the woman in charge of the door, the maid, said to Peter:

Woman

Are not you one of this man’s disciples?

Evangelist

He said

Peter

I am not.

Evangelist

The servants and officers were standing there and had made a charcoal fire (for it was cold) and were warming themselves. Peter stood by them and warned himself. The chief priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him.

Jesus

I have spoken openly before all the world. I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple where all the Jews gather together and have spoken nothing in secret. Why therefore do you question me? Question those who have heard about what I have spoken to them! See, they themselves know what I have said.

Evangelist

As he spoke in this way, one of servants who was standing by, struck Jesus with his hand and said:

Servant

Should you reply to the chief priests in this way?

Evangelist

Jesus answered:

Jesus

If I have spoken badly, then show what was wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?

11. Choral

Wer hat dich so geschlagen,
Mein Heil, und dich mit Plagen
So übel zugericht'?
Du bist ja nicht ein Sünder
Wie wir und unsre Kinder,
Von Missetaten weißt du nicht.
Ich, ich und meine Sünden,
Die sich wie Körnlein finden
Des Sandes an dem Meer,
Die haben dir erreget
Das Elend, das dich schläget,
Und das betrübte Marterheer.

11. Chorale

Who has struck you in this way,
my Saviour, and with torments
treated you so badly?
You are indeed not a sinner
as we and our children are,
of wrongdoing you know nothing.
I, I, and my sins,
that are as many as grains
of sand by the sea
have provoked for you
the misery that has struck you
and the host of troubles and torment.

12a. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Und Hannas sandte ihn gebunden zu dem Hohenpriester Kaiphas. Simon Petrus stund und wärmete sich, da sprachen sie zu ihm:

12a. Recitative

Evangelist

And Annas sent him bound to the chief priest Caiphas. As Simon Peter stood and warmed himself, they said to him:

12b. Chor

Bist du nicht seiner Jünger einer?

12b. Chorus

Aren’t you one of his disciples?

12c. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Er leugnete aber und sprach:

Petrus

Ich bin's nicht.

Evangelist

Spricht des Hohenpriesters Knecht' einer, ein Gefreundter des, dem Petrus das Ohr abgehauen hatte:

Servant

Sahe ich dich nicht im Garten bei ihm?

Evangelist

Da verleugnete Petrus abermal, und alsobald krähete der Hahn. Da gedachte Petrus an die Worte Jesu und ging hinaus und weinete bitterlich.

12c. Recitative

Evangelist

But he denied it and said:

Peter

I am not.

Evangelist

One of the chief priest’s servants, a relative of the man, whose ear Peter had cut off, said:

Servant

Did I not see you in the garden with him?

Evangelist

Then Peter denied it again, and once the cock crew. Then Peter thought of Jesus’s word and went out and wept bitterly.

13. Arie (Tenor)

Ach, mein Sinn,
Wo willt du endlich hin,
Wo soll ich mich erquicken?
Bleib ich hier,
Oder wünsch ich mir
Berg und Hügel auf den Rücken?
Bei der Welt ist gar kein Rat,
Und im Herzen
Stehn die Schmerzen
Meiner Missetat,
Weil der Knecht den Herrn verleugnet hat.

13. Tenor Aria

Ah, my soul
where will you go,
where shall I find relief?
Should I stay here
or should I wish
that hills and mountains were behind me?
In the world there is no help,
and in my heart
are the pains
of my wrongdoing
since the servant has denied the Lord.

14. Choral

Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück,
Seinen Gott verneinet,
Der doch auf ein' ernsten Blick
Bitterlichen weinet.

Jesu, blicke mich auch an,
Wenn ich nicht will büßen;
Wenn ich Böses hab getan,|
Rühre mein Gewissen!

14. Chorale

Peter, who does not think back at all,
denies his God,
but then at a look of reproach
weeps bitterly.

Jesus, look at me also
when I am reluctant to repent;
when I have done evil
stir up my conscience!

ZWEITER TEIL

Johannes 18.28-40; 19.1

PART TWO

St. John 18: 28-40; 19:1

15. Choral

Christus, der uns selig macht,
Kein Bös' hat begangen,
Der ward für uns in der Nacht
Als ein Dieb gefangen,
Geführt für gottlose Leut
Und fälschlich verklaget,
Verlacht, verhöhnt und verspeit,
Wie denn die Schrift saget.

15. Chorale

Christ, who makes us blessed
and has done no wrong,
was for us in the night
seized like a thief,
led before godless people
and falsely accused,
derided, mocked and spat upon,
as the scripture says.

16a. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Da führeten sie Jesum von Kaiphas vor das Richthaus, und es war frühe. Und sie gingen nicht in das Richthaus, auf dass sie nicht unrein würden, sondern Ostern essen möchten. Da ging Pilatus zu ihnen heraus und sprach:

Pilatus

Was bringet ihr für Klage wider diesen Menschen?

Evangelist

Sie antworteten und sprachen zu ihm:

16a. Recitative

Evangelist

Then they led Jesus from Caiphas to the hall of judgement, and it was early. And they did not go into the hall of judgement so that they would not become defiled but would be able to eat the Passover meal. Then Pilate came out to them and said:

Pilate

What accusation do you bring against this man?

Evangelist

They replied and said to him:

16b. Chor

Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter, wir hätten dir ihn nicht überantwortet.

16b. Chorus

If this man were not a criminal, we would not have brought him before you.

16c. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Da sprach Pilatus zu ihnen:

Pilatus

So nehmet ihr ihn hin und richtet ihn nach eurem Gesetze!

Evangelist

Da sprachen die Jüden zu ihm:

16c. Recitative

Evangelist

Then Pilate said to them:

Pilate

Then take him away and judge him according to your law!

Evangelist

Then the Jews said to him:

16d. Chor

Wir dürfen niemand töten.

16d. Chorus

We are not allowed to put anyone to death.

16e. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Auf dass erfüllet würde das Wort Jesu, welches er sagte, da er deutete, welches Todes er sterben würde. Da ging Pilatus wieder hinein in das Richthaus und rief Jesu und sprach zu ihm:

Pilatus

Bist du der Jüden König?

Evangelist

Jesus antwortete:

Jesus

Redest du das von dir selbst, oder haben's dir andere von mir gesagte

Evangelist

Pilatus antwortete:

Pilatus

Bin ich ein Jüde? Dein Volk und die Hohenpriester haben dich mir überantwortet; was hast du getan?

Evangelist

Jesus antwortete:

Jesus

Mein Reich ist nicht von dieser Welt; wäre mein Reich von dieser Welt, meine Diener würden darob kämpfen, dass ich den Jüden nicht überantwortet würde; aber nun ist mein Reich nicht von dannen.

16e. Recitative

Evangelist

In this way was fulfilled the words of Jesus, which he said to indicate by what sort of death he would die. Then Pilate went back into the hall of judgement and called Jesus and said to him:

Pilate

Are you the king of the Jews?

Evangelist

Jesus replied:

Jesus

Do you say this of yourself, or did others say it to you about me?

Evangelist

Pilate answered:

Pilate

Am I a Jew? Your people and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?

Evangelist

Jesus answered:

Jesus

My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world then my servants would fight so that I should not be handed over to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here.

17. Choral

Ach großer König, groß zu allen Zeiten,
Wie kann ich gnugsam diese Treu ausbreiten?
Keins Menschen Herze mag indes ausdenken,
Was dir zu schenken.
Ich kann's mit meinen Sinnen nicht erreichen,
Womit doch dein Erbarmen zu vergleichen.
Wie kann ich dir denn deine Liebestaten
Im Werk erstatten?

17. Chorale

Ah, great king, great in all ages,
How can I make my faithfulness in any way adequate?
No human heart can conceive
what gift is fit to offer you.
My mind cannot imagine
what can be compared to your mercy.
How then can I match your loving deeds
by anything I do ?

18a. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm:

Pilatus

So bist du dennoch ein König?

Evangelist

Jesus antwortete:

Jesus

Du sagst's, ich bin ein König. Ich bin dazu geboren und in die Welt kommen, dass ich die Wahrheit zeugen soll. Wer aus der Wahrheit ist, der höret meine Stimme.

Evangelist

Spricht Pilatus zu ihm:

Pilatus

Was ist Wahrheit?

Evangelist

Und da er das gesaget, ging er wieder hinaus zu den Jüden und spricht zu ihnen:

Pilatus

Ich finde keine Schuld an ihm. Ihr habt aber eine Gewohnheit, dass ich euch einen losgebe; wollt ihr nun, dass ich euch der Jüden König losgebe?

Evangelist

Da schrieen sie wieder allesamt und sprachen:

18a. Recitative

Evangelist

Then Pilate said to him

Pilate

So you are then a King?

Evangelist

Jesus answered:

Jesus

You say it, I am a king. For this I was born and came into the world, so that I should testify to the truth. Anyone who is of the truth hears my voice.

Evangelist

Pilate said to him:

Pilate

What is truth?

Evangelist

And when he said this, he went back out to the Jews and said to them:

Pilate

I find no fault in him. But you have a custom, that I release one prisoner to you; do you wish then that I should release to you the king of the Jews?

Evangelist

They all cried out together and said:

18b. Chor

Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam!

18b. Chorus

Not this man, but Barrabas!

18c. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Barrabas aber war ein Mörder. Da nahm Pilatus Jesum und geißelte ihn.

18c. Recitative

Evangelist

Now Barrabas was a murderer. Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him.

19. Arioso (Bass)

Betrachte, meine Seel, mit ängstlichem Vergnügen, Mit bittrer Lust und halb beklemmtem Herzen Dein höchstes Gut in Jesu Schmerzen,

Wie dir auf Dornen, so ihn stechen,

Die Himmelsschlüsselblumen blühn!

Du kannst viel süße Frucht von seiner Wermut brechen

Drum sieh ohn Unterlass auf ihn!

19. Bass Aria

Consider, my soul, with anxious delight,

with bitter pleasure and a heart partly oppressed that your highest good depends on Jesus’ sorrow, how for you from the thorns that pierce him heavenly flowers blossom!

You can gather so much sweet fruit from his wormwood therefore look unceasingly towards him!

20. Arie (Tenor)

Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken
In allen Stücken Dem Himmel gleiche geht,
Daran, nachdem die Wasserwogen
Von unsrer Sündflut sich verzogen,
Der allerschönste Regenbogen
Als Gottes Gnadenzeichen steht!

20. Tenor Aria

Ponder well how his back bloodstained
all over is like the sky -
where after the deluge
from our flood of sins has abated
there appears the most beautiful rainbow
as a sign of God’s mercy!

21a. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Und die Kriegsknechte flochten eine Krone von Dornen und satzten sie auf sein Haupt und legten ihm ein Purpurkleid an und sprachen:

21a. Recitative

Evangelist

And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and placed it on his head and put a purple robe on him and said:

21b. Chor

Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig!

21b. Chorus

Hail to you, king of the Jews!

21c. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Und gaben ihm Backenstreiche. Da ging Pilatus wieder heraus und sprach zu ihnen:

Pilatus

Sehet, ich führe ihn heraus zu euch, dass ihr erkennet, dass ich keine Schuld an ihm finde.

Evangelist

Also ging Jesus heraus und trug eine Dornenkrone und Purpurkleid. Und er sprach zu ihnen:

Pilatus

Sehet, welch ein Mensch!

Evangelist

Da ihn die Hohenpriester und die Diener sahen, schrieen sie und sprachen:

21c. Recitative

Evangelist

And they gave him blows with their hands. Then Pilate came out again and said to them:

Pilate

Look, I bring him out to you so that you can know that I find no fault in him.

Evangelist

And so Jesus came out and wore a crown of thorns and a purple robe. And he said to them:

Pilate

Look, this is the man!

Evangelist

When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out and said:

21d. Chor

Kreuzige, kreuzige!

21d. Chorus

Crucify him, crucify him!

21e. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Pilatus sprach zu ihnen:

Pilatus

Nehmet ihr ihn hin und kreuziget ihn; denn ich finde keine Schuld an ihm!

Evangelist

Die Jüden antworteten ihm:

21e. Recitative

Evangelist

Pilate said to them:

Pilate

Take him and crucify him; for I find no fault in him!

Evangelist

The Jews answered him:

21f. Chor

Wir haben ein Gesetz, und nach dem Gesetz soll er sterben; denn er hat sich selbst zu Gottes Sohn gemacht.

21f. Chorus

We have a law and according to the law he should die because he made himself the son of God.

21g. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Da Pilatus das Wort hörete, fürchtet' er sich noch mehr und ging wieder hinein in das Richthaus und spricht zu Jesu:

Pilatus

Von wannen bist du?

Evangelist

Aber Jesus gab ihm keine Antwort. Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm:

Pilatus

Redest du nicht mit mir ? Weißest du nicht, dass ich Macht habe, dich zu kreuzigen, und Macht habe, dich loszugehen ?

Evangelist

Jesus antwortete:

Jesus

Du hättest keine Macht über mich, wenn sie dir nicht wäre von oben herab gegeben; darum, der mich dir überantwortet hat, der hat's größ're Sünde.

Evangelist

Von dem an trachtete Pilatus, wie er ihn losließe.

21g. Recitative

Evangelist

When Pilate heard what they said, he was even more afraid and went back to the hall of judgment and said to Jesus:

Pilate

Where do you come from?

Evangelist

But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to him:

Pilate

You won’t speak to me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify you, and I have the power to set you free?

Evangelist

Jesus replied:

Jesus

You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above: therefore, the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt

Evangelist

And from then on Pilate endeavored to set him free.

22. Choral

Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn,
Muß uns die Freiheit kommen;
Dein Kerker ist der Gnadenthron,
Die Freistatt aller Frommen;
Denn gingst du nicht die Knechtschaft ein,
Müßt unsre Knechtschaft ewig sein.

22. Chorale

Through your imprisonment, Son of God,
must our freedom come.
Your prison is the throne of grace,
the refuge of all believers.
If you had not accepted slavery,
our slavery would have been eternal.

23a. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Die Jüden aber schrieen und sprachen:

23a. Recitative

Evangelist

But the Jews cried out and said:

23b. Chor

Lässest du diesen los, so bist du des Kaisers Freund nicht; denn wer sich zum Könige machet, der ist wider den Kaiser.

23b. Chorus

If you release this man, then you are not Caesar’s friend; for anyone who makes himself king is against Caesar.

23c. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Da Pilatus das Wort hörete, führete er Jesum herausund satzte sich auf den Richtstuhl, an der Stätte, die da heißet:Hochpflaster, auf Ebräisch aber: Gabbatha. Es war aber der Rüsttag in Ostern um die sechste Stunde,und er spricht zu den Jüden:

Pilatus

Sehet, das ist euer König!

Evangelist

Sie schrieen aber:

23c. Recitative

Evangelist

When Pilate heard what they said, he led Jesus out and sat in the judgment seat at the place which is called the Pavement, or in Hebrew: Gabbatha. It was the day of preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour, and he said to the Jews:

Pilate

Look, this is your king!

Evangelist

But they cried out:

23d. Chor

Weg, weg mit dem, kreuzige ihn!

23d. Chorus

Away with him, away with him, crucify him!

23e. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen:

Pilatus

Soll ich euren König kreuzigen?

Evangelist

Die Hohenpriester antworteten:

23e. Recitative

Evangelist

Pilate said to them:

Pilate

Shall I crucify your king?

Evangelist

The chief priests answered:

23f. Chor

Wir haben keinen König denn den Kaiser.

23f. Chorus

We have no king but Caesar.

23g. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Da überantwortete er ihn, dass er gekreuziget würde. Sie nahmen aber Jesum und führeten ihn hin. Und er trug sein Kreuz und ging hinaus zur Stätte, die da heißet Schädelstätt, welche heißet auf Ebräisch: Golgatha.

23g. Recitative

Evangelist

Then he handed him over to be crucified They took Jesus and led him away. And he carried his cross and went to the place which is called the place of the skull, that is in Hebrew: Golgotha.

24. Arie (Bass) Mit Coro

Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen,
Geht aus euren Marterhöhlen,
Eilt - Wohin ? - nach Golgatha!
Nehmet an des Glaubens Flügel,
Flieht - Wohin? - zum Kreuzeshügel,
Eure Wohlfahrt blüht allda!

24. Bass Aria with Chorus

Hurry, you tormented souls,
leave your dens of torment,
Hurry – Where to? –to Golgotha!
Take the wings of faith,
Fly – Where to? – to the hill of the cross,
there your salvation flourishes!

25a. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Allda kreuzigten sie ihn, und mit ihm zween andere zu beiden Seiten, Jesum aber mitten inne. Pilatus aber schrieb eine Überschrift und satzte sie auf das Kreuz, und war geschrieben: "Jesus von Nazareth, der Jüden König". Diese Überschrift lasen viel Jüden, denn die Stätte war nahe bei der Stadt, da Jesus gekreuziget ist. Und es war geschrieben auf ebräische, griechische und lateinische Sprache. Da sprachen die Hohenpriester der Jüden zu Pilato:

25a. Recitative

Evangelist

There they crucified him and with him two others, one on either side. with Jesus the middle. And Pilate wrote a title and placed it on the cross, and there was written: “Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews”. Many Jews read this title for the place was near the city where Jesus was crucified. And it was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. Then the chief priests said to Pilate:

25b. Chor

Schreibe nicht: der Jüden König, sondern dass er gesaget habe: Ich bin der Jüden König.

25b. Chorus

Do not write: the king of the Jews, but that he said: I am the king of the Jews.

25c. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Pilatus antwortet:

Pilatus

Was ich geschrieben habe, das habe ich geschrieben.

25c. Recitative

Evangelist

Pilate replied:

Pilate

What I have written, I have written.

26. Choral

In meines Herzens Grunde
Dein Nam und Kreuz allein
Funkelt all Zeit und Stunde,
Drauf kann ich fröhlich sein.
Erschein mir in dem Bilde
Zu Trost in meiner Not,
Wie du, Herr Christ, so milde
Dich hast geblut' zu Tod!

26. Chorale

In the depths of my heart
your name and cross alone
shine at every moment,
making me able to rejoice.
Let me see the image,
to console me in my distress
of how you, Lord Christ, so patiently
shed your blood in death!

27a. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Die Kriegsknechte aber, da sie Jesum gekreuziget hatten, nahmen seine Kleider und machten vier Teile, einem jeglichen Kriegesknechte sein Teil, dazu auch den Rock. Der Rock aber war ungenähet, von oben an gewürket durch und durch. Da sprachen sie untereinander:

27a. Recitative

Evangelist

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his clothes and made four parts, a part to each soldier, there was also his coat. His coat was seamless, woven from the top throughout. They said to each other:

27b. Chor

Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen, sondern darum losen, wes er sein soll.

27b. Chorus

Let us not tear it, but cast lots whose it should be.

27c. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Auf dass erfüllet würde die Schrift, die da saget: Sie haben meine Kleider unter sich geteilet und haben über meinen Rock das Los geworfen, Solches taten die Kriegesknechte. Es stund aber bei dem Kreuze Jesu seine Mutter und seiner Mutter Schwester, MArie, Kleophas Weib, und MArie Magdalena. Da nun Jesus seine Mutter sahe und den Jünger dabei stehen, den er lieb hatte, spricht er zu seiner Mutter:

Jesus

Weib, siehe, das ist dein Sohn!

Evangelist

Darnach spricht er zu dem Jünger:

Jesus

Siehe, das ist deine Mutter!

27c. Recitative

Evangelist

They have divided my clothing among them and they have cast lots for my coat, this is what the soldiers did There stood by Jesus’s cross his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary, wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple that he loved standing next to her, he said to his mother:

Jesus

Woman, look, this is your son!

Evangelist

Then he said to the disciple:

Jesus

Look, this is your mother!

28. Choral

Er nahm alles wohl in acht
In der letzten Stunde,
Seine Mutter noch bedacht,
Setzt ihr ein' Vormunde.
O Mensch, mache Richtigkeit,
Gott und Menschen liebe,
Stirb darauf ohn alles Leid,
Und dich nicht betrübe!

28. Chorale

He thought carefully of everything
in his last hour,
he was concerned for his mother,
chose someone to look after her.
O man, act justly,
love God and mankind,
then you can die without sorrow
and need not grieve!

29. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Und von Stund an nahm sie der Jünger zu sich. Darnach, als Jesus wusste, dass schon alles vollbracht war, dass die Schrift erfüllet würde, spricht er:

Jesus

Mich dürstet!

Evangelist

Da stund ein Gefäße voll Essigs. Sie fülleten aber einen Schwamm mit Essig und legten ihn um einen Isopen, und hielten es ihm dar zum Munde. Da nun Jesus den Essig genommen hatte, sprach er:

Jesus: Es ist vollbracht!

29. Recitative

Evangelist

And from that hour the disciple took her to himself. Then as Jesus knew that all had been accomplished so the scripture might be fulfilled, he said:

Jesus

I thirst!

Evangelist

There was a jar of vinegar. They filled a sponge with vinegar and put it on a hyssop and held it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said:

Jesus: It is accomplished!

30. Arie (Alto)

Es ist vollbracht!
O Trost vor die gekränkten Seelen!
Die Trauernacht
Läßt nun die letzte Stunde zählen.
Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht
Und schließt den Kampf.
Es ist vollbracht!

30. Alto Aria

It is accomplished!
What comfort for all suffering souls!
The night of sorrow
now reaches its final hours.
The hero from Judah triumphs in his might
and brings the strife to an end.
It is accomplished!

31. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Und neiget das Haupt und verschied.

31. Recitative

Evangelist

And he bowed his head and passed away

32. Arie Bass and Chor

[Bass]

Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen,
da du nunmehr ans Kreuz geschlagen
und selbst gesagt: Es ist vollbracht,
bin ich vom Sterben frei gemacht?
Kann ich durch deine Pein und Sterben
das Himmelreich ererben?
Ist aller Welt Erlösung da?
Du kannst vor Schmerzen zwar nichts sagen;
doch neigest du das Haupt
und sprichst stillschweigend: ja

[Chor]

Jesu, der du warest tot,
lebest nun ohn Ende,
in der letzten Todesnot
nirgend mich hinwende
als zu dir, der mich versühnt,
O du lieber Herre!
Gib mir nur, was du verdient,
mehr ich nicht begehre!

32. Bass Aria and Chorus

[Bass]

My beloved Saviour, let me ask you,
since you have now been nailed to the cross
and you yourself have said: It is accomplished,
have I been set free from death?
Through your pain and death can I
inherit the kingdom of heaven?
Is this the redemption of the whole world?
You can indeed not speak for anguish.
but you bow your head
and silently say: yes!

[Chorus]

Jesus, you were dead,
and now live forever,
in my final agony of death
may I turn nowhere else
but to you, who have redeemed me,
O my dear Lord,
give me only what you have won,
for more I could not wish!

33. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel zerriss in zwei Stück von oben an bis unten aus. Und die Erde erbebete, und die Felsen zerrissen, und die Gräber täten sich auf, und stunden auf viel Leiber der Heiligen.

33. Recitative

Evangelist

And see, the curtain in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks split and the graves opened, and many bodies of saints stood up.

34. Arioso (Tenor)

Mein Herz, in dem die ganze Welt
Bei Jesu Leiden gleichfalls leidet,
Die Sonne sich in Trauer kleidet,
Der Vorhang reißt, der Fels zerfällt,
Die Erde bebt, die Gräber spalten,
Weil sie den Schöpfer sehn erkalten,
Was willst du deines Ortes tun?

34. Tenor Aria

My heart, while the whole world
suffers as Jesus suffers,
the sun is clothed in mourning,
the veil is torn, the rocks split,
the earth quakes, graves gape open,
because they behold the creator grow cold in death, for your part, what will you do?

35. Arie (Sopran)

Zerfließe, mein Herze, in Fluten der Zähren
Dem Höchsten zu Ehren!
Erzähle der Welt und dem Himmel die Not:
Dein Jesus ist tot!

35. Soprano Aria

Dissolve, my heart, in floods of tears
to honour the Almighty!
Tell the world and heaven your distress:
your Jesus is dead!

36. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Die Jüden aber, dieweil es der Rüsttag war, dass nicht die Leichname am Kreuze blieben den Sabbat über (denn desselbigen Sabbats Tag war sehr groß), baten sie Pilatum, ihre Beine gebrochen und sie abgenommen würden. Da kamen die Kriegsknechte und brachen dem ersten die Beine und dem andern, der mit ihm gekreuziget war. Als sie aber zu Jesu kamen, da sie sahen, dass er schon gestorben war, brachen sie ihm die Beine nicht; sondern der Kriegsknechte einer eröffnete seine Seite mit einem Speer, und alsobald ging Blut und Wasser heraus. Und der das gesehen hat, der hat es bezeuget, und sein Zeugnis ist wahr, und derselbige weiß, dass er die Wahrheit saget, auf dass ihr gläubet. Denn solches ist geschehen, auf dass die Schrift erfüllet würde: "Ihr sollet ihm kein Bein zerbrechen". Und abermal spricht eine andere Schrift: "Sie werden sehen, in welchen sie gestochen haben".

36. Recitative

Evangelist

But the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the corpses should not remain on the cross over the sabbath, (for the sabbath day was very solemn) asked Pilate that their legs should be broken, and they should be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and the other who were crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, and they did not break his legs; but one of the soldiers opened his side with a spear and at once blood and water came out. and the one who saw it has testified this, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he speaks the truth so that you may believe. This happened so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “You shall break none of his bones”. And elsewhere another scripture says: “They will look on him whom they have pierced”.

37. Choral

O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn,
Durch dein bitter Leiden,
Dass wir dir stets untertan
All Untugend meiden,
Deinen Tod und sein Ursach
Fruchtbarlich bedenken,
Dafür, wiewohl arm und schwach,
Dir Dankopfer schenken!

37. Chorale

O help us, Christ, God’s Son,
through your bitter suffering,
so that always obedient to you
we may shun all wrongdoing,
and thinking of your death and its cause
we may profit from our reflections
and in this way, however poor and inadequate it may be, give you an offering of thanks!

38. Rezitativ

Evangelist

Darnach bat Pilatum Joseph von Arimathia, der ein Jünger Jesu war (doch heimlich aus Furcht vor den Jüden), dass er möchte abnehmen den Leichnam Jesu. Und Pilatus erlaubete es. Derowegen kam er und nahm den Leichnam Jesu herab. Es kam aber auch Nikodemus, der vormals bei der Nacht zu Jesu kommen war, und brachte Myrrhen und Aloen untereinander, bei hundert Pfunden. Da nahmen sie den Leichnam Jesu und bunden ihn in Leinen Tücher mit Spezereien, wie die Jüden pflegen zu begraben. Es war aber an der Stätte, da er gekreuziget ward, ein Garten, und im Garten ein neu Grab, in welches niemand je geleget war. Daselbst hin legten sie Jesum, um des Rüsttags willen der Jüden, dieweil das Grab nahe war.

38. Recitative

Evangelist

Then Joseph of Arimathia, who was a disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate (but secretly from fear of the Jews) to let him take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate allowed him to do so. He came for this purpose and took the body of Jesus away. There came also Nicodemus, who had once come to Jesus by night and brought myrrh and aloes together, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen clothes with spices, as is the Jews’ custom for the burial There was a garden by the place where he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had been laid. Here they laid Jesus because of the Jews’ preparation day, since the tomb was nearby.

39. Chor

Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine,
Die ich nun weiter nicht beweine,
Ruht wohl und bringt auch mich zur Ruh!
Das Grab, so euch bestimmet ist
Und ferner keine Not umschließt,
Macht mir den Himmel auf und schließt die Hölle zu.

39. Chorus

Rest in peace, you sacred limbs,
I shall weep for you no more,
rest in peace and bring me also to rest.
The grave that is allotted to you.
and contains no further suffering,
opens heaven for me and shuts off hell.

40. Choral

Ach Herr, lass dein lieb Engelein
Am letzten End die Seele mein
In Abrahams Schoß tragen,
Den Leib in seim Schlafkämmerlein
Gar sanft ohn eigne Qual und Pein
Ruhn bis am jüngsten Tage!
Alsdenn vom Tod erwecke mich,
Dass meine Augen sehen dich
In aller Freud, o Gottes Sohn,
Mein Heiland und Genadenthron!
Herr Jesu Christ, erhöre mich,
Ich will dich preisen ewiglich!

40. Chorale

Ah Lord, let your dear angels
at my final hour carry my soul
to Abraham’s bosom,
while my body in its narrow chamber
gently without pain or torment
rests until the last day.
Wake me then from death,
so that my eyes see you
in all joy, O God’s son,
my Saviour and throne of mercy
Lord Jesus Christ, hear me,
I shall praise you eternally!

Chorus

SOPRANO

Gail Balog
Dottie Cassimatis
Sally Chrisman
Marisa Curcio
Harikanta Didi-Ogren
Sandra Black Duffy
Angel Gardner
Candus Hedberg
Monica Hernandez
Jan Johnson
Judith Johnston
Carol Johnston
Kimberlynn Kleasen
SoonMi Kwon
Maureen Kyle
Carol K. McCollough
Noel McCormick
Juliane Michelis
Marjorie Morse
Sandra Noyelle
Kathleen Spoto
Jody Stebbins
Marilee Thompson
Peggy Waldron
Norah Wasden

TENOR
Timothy Carpenter
Samuel Denler
Gary Gregg
Jonathan Hartwell
Daniel Kanhofer
Alfred Kleindienst
Jason Matthews
Fred Millner
Larry Parker
Ralph Slaght
Dan Spira
Martin Wheelwright
Mike Williams

ALTO

LaVerna Albury
Erica Townsend Appel
Brenda Berger
Elaine R. Clisham
Libby Crowley
Linda Gardner
Louise Gross
Ellen Harrison
Joyce Irwin
Melissa Kettner
Olga Kronenberg
Carolyn P. Landis
Kelsey Lewis
Dianne D. Miles
Fernanda Muccilli
Kim Elaine Neighbor
Mineko Ogata
Jean Parsons
Janet Perkins
Fran Perlman
Ellen Petrone
Rebecca Phillips
Christine Strange
Ravenna Taylor
Marie-Diane Tenney

BASS

Charles Appel
Bruce Bush
John Couch
Bruce B Duffy
Richard Farris
Connor Fluharty
Ian Highcock
Kenny Litvack
Don Livingston
Lucian S. Marchand
Bernard McMullan
Brian Newhouse
Gahan Pandina
Charlie Repka
Dudley Rice
Greg Sarjeant
Michael Stebbins
Charles A.M. Tompkins

Orchestra

La Fiocco | Lewis R. Baratz, Artistic Director

Violin 1
Claire Smith Bermingham
Concertmaster
Nadir Aslam
The Frank L. Biletsky Chair
Edmundo T. Ramirez
Jimmy Drancsak

Violin 2
Jeremy Rhizor
Nathan Bishop
Linda Kistler
Elaine Yao

Viola
Mark Zaki
Margrét Hjaltested
Susan Iadone

Viola d’Amore
Susan Iadone
Edmundo T. Ramirez

Cello
Rebecca Humphrey

Gamba/Cello
Donna Fournier

Violone
Benjamin Rechel

Flute
Eve Friedman
Susan Graham

Oboe
Sarah Davol
Andrew Blanke

Bassoon
Aaron Goler

Contrabassoon
Dirk Wels

Lute/Arch
Daniel Swenberg

Organ
Joyce Chen

Harpsichord
Lewis R. Baratz

Acknowledgements

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Princeton Pro Musica wishes to thank the following individuals and organizations for providing their special help:

Discover Jersey Arts
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
Princeton Area Community Foundation
Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce
Regina Opera Company for their Supertitles template
Innovoke ⧫ Print & Marketing Solutions
Dr. Wendy Heller
Dr. Clancy Rowley - Supertitles Operator
Baroque Keyboards
David Johnson - Technical Assistance

Support Staff and Volunteers

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Janet Breslin

BOOKKEEPER
Maureen Kyle

CONCERT MANAGER
Dianne D. Miles

DIGITAL PROGRAM
Dianne D. Miles

CHAMBER CHORUS COORDINATOR
Fran Perlman

MUSIC COORDINATOR
Kim Neighbor

SECTION LEADERS
Candus Hedberg, soprano
Kim Neighbor, alto
Gary Gregg, tenor
Richard Farris, bass

SUPERTITLES
Mary Trigg, creator

WEBMASTER
Kenny Litvack

CONCERT HOUSE STAFF
Box Office
Kevin Dziuba

Our contributors

Bach: St. John Passion