Performed June 16, 2019; James Knox Sutterfield, conductor; Andrew Fuchs, tenor.
27a. 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:
27b. Chorus
Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen, sondern darum losen, wes er sein soll.
27a. Evangelist
The soldiers however, that had crucified Jesus, took his clothing and made four parts, one part for each soldier, the same also with his robe. The robe, however, had no seam, being woven from top to bottom. Then they said to each other:
27b. Chorus
Let’s not divide this, rather let’s toss for it, to see whose it will be.
The St. John Passion is a work of both high drama and deep intimacy. The tenor Evangelist acts as narrator, carrying the bulk of the story in the words of Martin Luther’s translation of the Gospel According to St. John. The other principle dramatic roles are sung by two basses, relaying the words ascribed to Jesus and Pilate. Most of the other spoken text in the Passion narrative comes from crowds—soldiers, citizens, or a collection of high priests—and these words are given to the chorus, often with virtuosic writing to capture the fervor described in the narration. Dubbed turba choruses, from the Latin for crowd, these choruses could easily be characterized as turbulent, a word derived from the same root.
As the soldiers play dice in “Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen” (27b), Bach “plays” with his fugue, changing the order of the entrances of the voices and changing the intervals at which they enter in ways that are indescribably difficult to execute as a composer.