Category:Incomplete editions

A listing of incomplete CPDL editions, usually some movements have not yet been edited. This is for CPDL editions that are incomplete, not works left unfinished by the composer.

J. S. Bach (1685-1750) St John Passion Evangelist (T), Jesus (B), Maid, Ancilla (S), Peter (B), Servant, Servus (T), Pilate (B)

Translation by Henry S. Drinker. (Henry S. Drinker. Texts of the choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach in English translation. 4 vols. New York, 1942-43)

PART ONE Chorus Lord, Thou our Master, Thou whose name in every land is honoured, is ever honoured everywhere Show us in this, Thy Passion’s hour, how Thou, the very Son of God, for endless time, art now become, tho’ brought so low, forever glorified. Evangelist, Jesus Jesus went with His disciples over the brook, Cedron, where was a garden, to which came Jesus, and His disciples. Judas also – he who was false - knew the place full well, for Jesus resorted thither oft to be with His disciples. Judas therefore, who had gathered a body of men, whom the Chief Priests and Pharisees had sent him, now cometh thither with lanterns torches and with weapons. Therefore Jesus, knowing all things that were to come upon Him, went straightway forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye here? And they answered to Him, Chorus Jesus of Nazareth. Evangelist, Jesus Jesus saith unto them: I am He. Judas also, he which betrayed Him, stood there beside them. And as soon then as He had said: I am He, all of them went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked He of them a second time: Whom seek ye here? Again they answered: Chorus Jesus of Nazareth. Evangelist, Jesus Jesus answered and said: To you I have said, I am he; if ye seek for me, then let these go their way! Chorale O wondrous Love, O Love all love excelling, wherefore Thou made this vale of tears Thy dwelling! The joys and pleasures of the world we cherish, Yet Thou must perish. Evangelist, Jesus So that the prophesy might be fulfilled which He spake: Of them which Thou gavest to me, not one have I lost, not one. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, he drew it forth, and struck at the high priest's serving man, and cut the man’s right ear off; the man's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus to Peter: Put up thy sword in its scabbard! Shall I not drink the cup my Father hath given me to drink, the cup my Father hath given me? Chorale Thy will must all creation do, on earth and high in heaven too; Thy patience, Lord, on us bestow, that we obey in weal and woe. Stay Thou the hand and spoil the skill of them who seek to thwart Thy will. Evangelist The body of soldiers with their captain, who were sent by the Jews laid hold of Jesus, and bound Him fast, and led Him away at first unto Annas for he was Caiphas’ father-in-law, which was high priest that same year. Now it had been Caiaphas who had told the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for all. Alto Aria From the shackles of my vices to liberate me, they have bound my Saviour. From my aching wounds and bruises, fully to heal me, He was bruised and wounded. Evangelist Simon Peter also followed with Jesus, and another disciple. Soprano Aria I follow Thee also, with joy to be near Thee, in trouble and strife, Thou light of my life. Ah speed Thou my way and say me not “nay”, but let me be near Thee, to solace and cheer Thee. Evangelist, Ancilla, Peter, Jesus, Servus That other disciple to the High Priest long had been known, and went with Jesus within, and entered into His court. But without at the doorway Peter stood. Then did that other disciple, who was known to them in the palace, go out and spoke unto her that tended the door, and brought Peter also within. Then saith the Maid that tended the door, to Peter: Art not thou also one of His disciples? He saith: I am not. The officers and the servants who stood there had made them a fire out of coals (for it was cold) and warmed themselves. Peter also stood among them and warmed himself. Then did the High Priest ask and question Jesus of His disciples, and of His doctrine. Jesus answered to him: I ever spake, openly and freely to the World. And in the synagogue I oftentimes was teaching. and in the temple, wherein the Jews always do resort, nor have I ever in secret said aught. Why asketh thou this of me? Ask thou of them who have heard me, what I have said to them and what I taught them. Ask thou of them, for behold they know all that I have told them. And when Jesus thus had spoken, an officer who stood near to Jesus struck Him with the palm of his hand, and said: And dost Thou then dare to answer the High Priest so? Jesus answered unto him: If I spoke aught of ill, bear thou witness of my evil words; but if I have spoken well, why smitest thou me? Chorale Who was it Lord, did smite Thee, Thy good with ill requite Thee, so foully treated Thee? For Thou wert no offender, nor didst to sin surrender, from evildoing Thou art free. My sins and evildoing are like the sands bestrewing the mighty ocean’s shore. These sins it was that brought Thee Thy misery, and wrought thee the host of torments that Thou bore. Evangelist Now Annas had had Jesus bound and sent Him bound to Caiaphas. Simon Peter stood and warmed himself, they said then unto him: Chorus Art thou not one of His disciples? Evangelist, Peter, Servus But Peter denied it, and said: I am not. Then says one of the High Priest’s servants, being kinsman of him, whom Peter had smitten and cut his ear off: Saw I not thee in the garden with Him? Simon Peter denied a third time and straightway then did the cock crow. Then did Peter bring to mind the Word of Jesus and he went out, and wept, yea wept bitterly. Tenor Aria Ah, my soul how futile is thy goal, where may contentment find thee? Where will thou fly my soul, Shall I stay, shall I go away, and leave the hills behind me? Earth no peace doth me afford, ever ruing my wrong doing, evil deeds abhorred, since the servant has denied his Lord. Chorale Peter, while his conscience slept, thrice denied his Saviour. When it woke he bitter wept at his base behaviour. Jesus, let me not forget; true allegiance teach me. When on evil I am set, through my conscience reach me. PART TWO Chorale Christ, who knew no sin or wrong, like a thief was taken, led before a godless throng by his friends forsaken. He who our salvation won, falsely was convicted, scoffed at, scorned and spat upon, as the Word predicted. Evangelist, Pilate Then led away they Jesus to the hall of judgement, and it was early. And they went not themselves therein, lest they should be corrupted; but that they might eat the Passover. Then unto them Pontius Pilate went out, and said: What accusation bring ye now against this man? And they answered, and said unto him: Chorus If this man were not a malefactor, we had not brought Him here before thee. Evangelist, Pilate Then Pilate said unto them: Now come and take ye Him, and judge ye Him according to your law. The Jews, therefore, said unto him: Chorus By death we may not punish. Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus That so might be fulfilled the word of Jesus, which He had spoken and had signified by what manner of death He should die. Then Pilate entered into the hall and again he called in Jesus, and said to Him: Art Thou the King of the Jews then? Jesus then answered him: Sayest Thou this thing of thyself, or did these others tell it thee to say of Me? And Pilate thus answered: Am I a Jew? Thy nation and Thy chief priests have brought Thee here for judgement before me. What then hast Thou done? And Jesus answered him: My kingdom is not of this world; for were my kingdom of this world, then my servants all would fight, yea, battle, that I be not delivered unto the Jews; nay then. for not from hence is my kingdom. Chorale Ah mighty King, renowned and great for ever, to tell Thy kindness is a vain endeavour. How may this mortal heart contrive to show Thee how much I owe Thee?

My feeble tongue and fancy cannot fashion a fitting counterpart to Thy compassion. How can I hope to pay Thy benefaction, by worthy action? Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus Then Pilate said unto Him, Art Thou in truth then a king? Jesus answered to Him, Thou sayest I am a king to this end was I born, for this to earth came I, that I bear witness to the truth. All who seek the truth will hear and heed my teaching. Then said Pilate to Him, What is truth then? And when he thus had spoken, he went out once again to the Jews, and said unto them, I find in Him no fault at all. At Passover ye have a custom, that one man I should release you; would ye then, that I should release the King of the Jews? Then cried they together all again, and shouted, Chorus Not this man, no not Him, not this one, give us Barrabas. Evangelist

Barabbas he set free, a robber. Then Pilate took Jesus, and scourged Him. 

Bass Arioso Bethink thee, o my soul, in agony and rapture, altho’ with woe thy heart be low and languish; thy precious boon was Jesus' anguish, for thee the thorn-crown which He wore, with heaven scented flow’rs will bloom. For thee the sweetest fruit His bitter wormwood bore, so look unceasingly to Him. Tenor Aria Imagine that His blood bespattered body in ev’ry member is part of Heaven above. And see the waves of sin subsiding, sunbeams again dark clouds dividing, the rainbow fair the sky bestriding; God’s token bright of grace and love. Evangelist The soldiers platted then for Him a crown out of thorns, and put it upon His head, and put on Him a purple robe and said, Chorus King we hail Thee, King of Jews! Evangelist, Pilate And then with their hands they smote Him. Again came Pilate forth from the Hall and to them saith he: See ye, I now will bring Him forth to you, that ye may know that in Him no fault do I find. And then did Jesus come forth, still wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Unto them said Pilate, See ye, see the man! Now therefore when the priests and officers saw Him, cried they out, and said, Chorus Crucify, crucify! Evangelist, Pilate Then unto them saith Pilate, Take ye now this man, and crucify Him; for I find no fault at all in Him! The Jews then gave answer and said: Chorus We have with us a law, and by our law He should perish, for He made Himself to be the Son of God. Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus Now when Pilate heard what thus was said, he was the more afraid; and went up once again to the judgement hall, and saith to Jesus, From whence then art Thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate saith unto Him, Speakest Thou not to me? Knowest Thou not I have power, yea have power to crucify, and power have I too, to release thee? Jesus then answered him, Thou couldst have no power over me, none at all except it were given thee from above; whereby, he that delivered me unto thee is the greater sinner. And from thenceforth did Pilate seek that he might release Him. Chorale Our freedom, Son of God arose when Thou wast cast in prison; And from the durance that Thou chose our liberty is risen, Didst Thou not choose a slave to be, we all were slaves eternally. Evangelist But the Jews cried out and shouted to Pilate: Chorus If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend; for whoever maketh himself a king is foe unto Caesar. Evangelist, Pilate Then when Pilate heard them speaking thus, straightway did he bring Jesus forth and sat in the seat of judgement, in a place that is called The High Pavement, but in Hebrew it is Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover and about the sixth hour; and he saith to the Jews, See ye your King, yea behold Him! They cried out: Chorus Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him! Evangelist, Pilate Pilate saith unto them: Would ye that your King be crucified? The chief priests answered and said to him: Chorus We have no king but Caesar. Evangelist And then he delivered Him to them, that they might crucify Him. So took they with them Jesus, and led they Him away. And He bore His cross, and went thenceforth to a place that is called The Place of Skulls, which is in the Hebrew tongue called, Golgotha. Bass Aria & Chorus Come, come ye souls whom care oppresses, leave ye troubles’ dark recesses. Ah, where? Come to Golgotha. Take the wings of faith to bear you, fly His cross to carry, happiness awaits you there! Evangelist And there crucified they Him, and with Him two others, on either side one, Jesus in the midst between them. And Pontius Pilate wrote them an epigraph, and put it up on the cross. And on it was written , ‘Jesus, of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’. And this epigraph many of Jews were reading; for not far from the city was the place where Jesus was crucified. And these words were written both in Hebrew, Latin likewise also in Greek. Then said the chief priests of the Jews unto Pilate: Chorus Write Him not as our King: do not so write Him, rather that He Himself has said this: I am their King and Master. Evangelist, Pilate And Pilate then answered, What I myself have written, that I yea, I have written. Chorale Within my heart’s recesses there sparkles bright Thy Name, my spirit glad rejoices to see its steady flame. When dreaded death is near me, with all its dark distress, Thy Cross dear Lord will cheer me and ease its bitterness. Evangelist And then did the soldiers, after thus they had crucified Jesus, portion out His garments, in four equal portions, and for each of the soldiers there was a part; and also His coat. Now the coat had no seam, and was woven from end to end, one piece it was throughout. They said, therefore, one to the other: Chorus Let us rend not nor divide it, but by lot determine, who shall have it. Evangelist, Jesus That the scripture might be fulfilled, which sayeth: They portioned out my raiment equally among them, and for my vesture they cast lots, yea for my vesture. These things, therefore, were done by the soldiers. Now standing beside the cross of Jesus was His mother, and the sister of His mother, and Mary, Cleophas’s wife, also Mary Magdalena. When then Jesus saw His mother near him, and His well beloved disciple standing by her, He saith unto His mother, Look woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to this disciple, See thou, here behold thy mother! Chorale In His final hour did He think Him of His mother, that when He was gone she be cared for by this other. Make your peace with God and man, that upon the morrow you may end this mortal span free from care and sorrow. Evangelist, Jesus That disciple took her to his own home. And now since Jesus, knew full well that all was accomplished, as was written in the scripture, He saith, I thirst. Now stood there a vessel of vinegar. They filled from the vessel then a sponge with vinegar, and put it on a twig of hyssop, to drink it. Therefore Jesus, when He had received the vinegar, saith, It is fulfilled. Alto Aria The end has come. O rest and peace for stricken spirits. This dreary night is filled with gloom and sad foreboding. Our hero battles on with might, and ends the fight. The end has come. Evangelist Then bowed He His head, and was gone. Bass Aria and Chorus Oh thou my Saviour, give me answer, tho’ Thou upon thy cross art crucified, and tho Thou has said: The end has come, am I from death forever free? Through Thy despair and desolation am I assured, am I assured salvation? Have all our sins been washed away? Thou must for grief indeed be silent; yet bowest Thou Thy head to say in silence: yea. [Chorus] Jesus, Thou who once wert dead, Livest now forever. When the path of death I tread, Lord forsake me never. God’s wrath Thou from me hast turned saved me from disaster! My redemption Thou hast earned, my beloved Master. Evangelist And then behold, the veil of the temple was rended in twain, from top to bottom; and the firmament rocked and quaked, and the rocks burst asunder; and the graves were opened again, and up arose many bodies of saints that slept. Tenor Arioso My heart, see how all the world is plunged in woe because of Jesus' anguish; the sun itself by grief is shrouded, the veil is rent, the rocks are burst, creation quakes, the graves are opened, when their Redeemer sees they lifeless, and as for Thee what wilt thou do? Soprano Aria With tears overflowing, your homage bestowing the Master exalt ye! Through Heaven and earth let the tidings be spread; thy Jesus is dead. Evangelist The chief priests therefore, since it was the preparation, in order that the bodies should not remain upon the cross for the Sabbath day (for a High Day that Sabbath day with the Jews), made a plea that Pilate allow their legs to be broken, that away they might be taken. Then came the soldiers, and brake they the legs of the first one, and of the other who was crucified there with Him. When at length they had come to Jesus, seeing clearly that He was already dead, therefore they did not break His legs. One of the soldiers then took up his spear, and with the spear did pierce His side, and forthwith came there blood and water out. And he who has seen these things, of them has borne record, and his record is true; nor indeed can he fail to know whereof he speaketh, that ye believe him. For all these things were done, as promised by the holy scripture: ‘A bone of Him shall not be broken’. Again in the scriptures another has said: ‘And they shall look on Him whom they have pierced’. Chorale Help, O Christ Thou Son of God, help me through Thine anguish, through the bitter path Thou trod, evil ways to vanquish. On Thy death and why Thou died we must ponder truly, we, though weak, have rightly tried, Lord, to thank Thee duly. Evangelist There came unto Pilate Joseph, of Arimathaea, a disciple too was he(but secretly, fearing the Jews), and besought leave to take away Jesus; body. And Pilate did give him leave. Therefore came he thither and carried Jesus’ body away. There came thither, too, Nicodemus, he who at first had come to Jesus in the night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, together an hundred pound weight. And forthwith took they Jesus’ body and wound it in the linen clothes, with the myrrh and aloes in the manner of the Jews to bury. In Golgotha where His cross was, where He was crucified was a garden; in the garden was a grave, wherein as yet man never had been laid. Therein they therefore laid Jesus, for the preparation day of the Jews, for this new grave was nigh at hand. Chorus Rest well beloved, sweetly sleeping, that I may cease from further weeping, sleep well, and let me too sleep well! The grave, which is prepared for Thee, from pain and grief will set Thee free, will open Heaven for me and close the gates of Hell. Chorale Ah Lord, when comes that final day may angels bear my soul away to Abram’s bosom take it. Let then my body’s anguish cease, my soul to wait the day, in peace, when Thou again awake it. Ah, what a joy it then will be the very Son of God to see, To gaze upon His holy face, my Saviour on the throne of grace! Lord Jesus Christ, oh hear Thou me, oh hear Thou me, Thy name I praise eternally.