Heavenly Flowers from His Thorns Arranged April 21, 2020   In the spring of 1724, Johann Sebastian Bach was only 39 years old and still in his first year as Thomaskantor, responsible for providing music for four Lutheran churches in Leipzig, Germany. One of them was the St. Nicholas Church, depicted here.  The musicians' place was in the rear of the nave.  In this drawing I've tinted the loft for the choir. Instrumentalists sat behind the singers, and the large organ was to the left. At this church on Good Friday, April 7, 1724, Bach premiered his St. John Passion, nearly two hours in length. Three centuries later, you're invited to listen to this famous work.  As Albert Schweitzer commented in 1908, “Bach's music, like the narrative in the fourth Gospel, conveys simultaneously the ideas of majesty and suffering.”   Recitatives The choruses are powerful and the arias are beautiful, but large portions of the music are “recitatives” — narration and dialogue, not spoken but sung using the rhythms of normal speech.  The only accompaniment comes from the organ, and many words repeat the same note.  This can get boring if you don't know German. It turns out the recitatives are simply the scripture reading for Good Friday. Namely, it's the story of the Passion (arrest and execution) of Jesus, as told in chapters 18 and 19 of the gospel of St. John. These portions are narrated by a vocalist representing the Evangelist. Other Singing Like ancient Greek drama, however, the story is interrupted by commentary from individual soloists and a choir.  These portions are more melodic. The choir frequently sings “chorales” based on old selections from the local hymnal, the 1682 Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch.  The parishioners would be familiar with the tunes, but someone who didn't know German might be baffled by words like Himmelsschlüsselblumen (“heavenly flowers blossoming”). Auf Englisch, In Color As a public service, I've taken an English translation, one that Francis Browne posted in 2006 on the Bach Cantatas Website, and given it a colorful format. The scriptural recitatives appear in red.  The intervening portions — chorales in blue, arias in green, and choruses in teal — add their own prayerful meditation. Introductory 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. John 18:1  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.  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: “Who are you looking for?”  They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth."  Jesus said to them, “I am he.”  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: “Who are you looking for?”  And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Jesus replied, “I have told you that I am he.  If you are looking for me, then let these go!” Verse 6 of “O Dearest Jesus” (1630):  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. John 18:9  In this way the word was fulfilled which said “I have lost none of those which you gave to me.”  Simon Peter had a sword, and he drew it out and struck the chief priest's servant and cut off his right ear.  The servant was called Malchus.  Jesus said to Peter, “Put up your sword in its scabbard!  Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me?” Verse 4 of “Our Father in Heaven” (1539):  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. John 18:12  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. Alto:  From the bonds of my sins to set me free, my Savior is bound.  From all infections of vice to heal me completely, he gives himself to be wounded. John 18:15  Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Soprano:  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. John 18:15b  This other 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.  The woman in charge of the door, the maid, said to Peter, “Are not you one of this man's disciples?”  He said, “I am not.” 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, “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.” As he spoke in this way, one of servants who was standing by struck Jesus with his hand and said, “Should you reply to the chief priests in this way?”  Jesus answered, “If I have spoken badly, then show what was wrong.  But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Verses 3 and 4 of “O World, Behold” (1647):   Who has struck you in this way, my Savior, 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, 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 the torment. John 18:24  Annas sent him bound to the chief priest Caiphas.  As Simon Peter stood and warmed himself, they said to him, “Aren't you one of his disciples?”  But he denied it and said, “I am not.”  One of the chief priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?”   Peter denied it again, and at once the cock crew. Matthew 26:75  Then Peter thought of Jesus's word and went out and wept bitterly. Tenor:  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. Verse 10 of “Jesus's Suffering, Pain and Death” (1633):  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!   At this point there shall be preached the sermon for the evening.   Verse 1 of “Christ, Who Makes Us Blessed” (1531):  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. John 18:28  Then they led Jesus from Caiphas to the Hall of Judgment.  It was early, and they did not go into the Hall of Judgment so that they would not become defiled but would be able to eat the Passover meal. Pilate came out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?  They replied and said to him, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have brought him before you.”  Pilate said to them, “Then take him away and judge him according to your law!”  The Jews said to him, “We are not allowed to put anyone to death.”  In this way was fulfilled the words of Jesus, which he said to indicate by what sort of death he would die. Pilate went back into the Hall of Judgment and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”  Jesus replied, “Do you say this of yourself, or did others say it to you about me?”  Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew?  Your people and the chief priests have handed you over to me.  What have you done?”  Jesus answered, “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.” Verses 7 and 8 of "O, Dearest Jesus” (1630):  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? John 18:37  Then Pilate said to him, “So you are then a King?”  Jesus answered, “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.”"  Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” And when he said this, he went back out to the Jews and said to them, “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?”  They all cried out together and said, “Not this man, but Barabbas!”   Now Barabbas was a murderer.  John 19:1  Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. Bass:  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! Tenor:  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! John 19:23  The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and placed it on his head and put a purple robe on him and said, “Hail to you, king of the Jews!”  They gave him blows with their hands. Then Pilate came out again and said to them, “Look, I bring him out to you so that you can know that I find no fault in him.”  And so Jesus came out and wore a crown of thorns and a purple robe.  And he said to them, “Look, this is the man!”  When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out and said, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him and crucify him; for I find no fault in him.”  The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to the law he should die, because he made himself the son of God.” When Pilate heard what they said, he was even more afraid and went back to the Hall of Judgment and said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?”  But Jesus gave him no answer.  Pilate said to him, “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?”  Jesus replied, “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.”  From then on, Pilate endeavored to set him free. Melody of “Deal with Me, God,” words from C.H. Postel (1700):  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. John 19:12  But the Jews cried out and said, “If you release this man, then you are not Caesar's friend; for anyone who makes himself king is against Caesar.”  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, “Look, this is your king!”   But they cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!”  Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?”  The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”   Then he handed him over to be crucified. They took Jesus and led him away.  He carried his cross and went to the place which is called the place of the skull, that is in Hebrew Golgatha. Bass and 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! John 19:18  There they crucified him and with him two others, one on either side with Jesus the middle.  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, “Do not write ‘the king of the Jews’ but that “he said: I am the king of the Jews.’”  Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.” Verse 3 of “I Want to Bid You Farewell” (1613):   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! John 19:23  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, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots whose it should be.”  In this way the Scripture was fulfilled, where it is said, “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, “Woman, look, this is your son!”  Then he said to the disciple, “Look, this is your mother!” Verse 20 of “Jesus's Suffering, Pain and Death” (1633):   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! John 19:27  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, “I thirst!”   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, “It is accomplished!” Alto:  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! John 19:30  And he bowed his head and passed away. Bass with Chorus:  My beloved Savior, 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!” Final verse of “Jesus's Suffering, Pain and Death” (1633):   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! Matthew 27:51  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. Tenor:  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? Soprano:  Dissolve, my heart, in floods of tears to honor the Almighty!  Tell the world and heaven your distress: your Jesus is dead! John 19:31  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.  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.” Verse 8 of “Christ, Who Makes Us Blessed” (1531):  Oh 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. John 19:38  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. 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, which contains no further suffering, opens heaven for me and shuts off hell. Verse 3 of “From My Heart I Hold You Dear” (1571):  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 Savior and throne of mercy.  Lord Jesus Christ, hear me: I shall praise you eternally!