BWV 249 Kommt, eilet und laufet, ihr flüchtigen Füßen (Oster-Oratorium)

Easter.

Poet unknown (probably Picander).

1 April 1725, Leipzig; revised, ca. 1735; Parody: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 ← BWV 249a.

BG 21, 3; NBA II/7.


Easter Oratorio

Mary, daughter of James (S), Mary Magdalene (A), Peter (T), John (B)

1. Sinfonia

2. Adagio

3. Aria (T, B) (1)

Come, hasten and hurry,(2) ye fleet-footed paces,
Make haste for the grotto which Jesus doth veil!

    Laughter and pleasure,
    Attend ye our spirits,
    For he our Savior is raised up.

4. Recit. (A, S, T, B)

(A)
O men so cold of heart!
Where is that love then gone
Which to the Savior ye now owe?

(S)
A helpless woman must upbraid you!

(T)
Ah, our sore-troubled grieving

(B)
And anxious, heartfelt woe

(T, B)
Here, joined with salty weeping
And melancholy yearning,
For him an unction did intend,

(S, A)
Which ye, as we, in vain have brought.

5. Aria (S) Mary, daughter of James

My soul, these thy costly spices
Should consist no more of myrrh.

    For alone,
    Crowned with laurel wreaths resplendent,
    Thou wilt calm thy anxious longing(3).

6. Recit. (T, B, A)

(T)
Here is the crypt

(B)
And here the stone
Which kept it tightly closed.
But where, then, is my Savior gone?

(A)
He is from death now risen up!
We met, before, an angel here
Who brought to us report of this.

(T)
I see now with great rapture
The napkin all unwound here lying.

7. Aria (T) 

Gentle shall my dying labor,
Nought but slumber,
Jesus, through thy napkin be.

    Yes, for it will there(4) refresh me
    And the tears of all my pain
    From my cheeks wipe dry with comfort.

8. Recit. and Arioso (S, A)

And meanwhile, we sigh here
With burning deep desire:
Ah, if it only soon might happen,
To see himself the Savior!

9. Aria (A)

Tell me, tell me, tell me quickly,
Tell me where I may find Jesus,
Him whom all my soul doth love!

    Come now, come, and hold me close,
    For my heart is, lacking thee,
    Left an orphan and distressed.

10. Recit. (B) 

We now rejoice
That this our Jesus lives again,
And these our hearts,
Which once in sadness were dissolved and in suspense,
Forget their pain
And turn to joyful anthems,
For this our Savior once more liveth.

11. Chorus (S,A,T,B)

Laud and thanks
Bide, O Lord, thy song of praise.
Hell and devil are now vanquished,
And their portals are destroyed.
Triumph, O ye ransomed voices,
Till ye be in heaven heard.
Spread open, ye heavens, your glorious arches,
The Lion of Judah with triumph doth enter!


1. In the revised version: Chorus (S, A, T, B).

2. In the earlier version: Kommt, fliehet und eilet "Come, fleeing and running, ..." (so, Dürr, 238), Kommt, gehet und eilet "Come, go ye and hasten, (so Neumann T).

3. In the earlier version Sich mit Lorbeerkränzen schmücken, Schicket sich vor dein Erquicken "Self with laurel wreaths bedecking maketh ready thy refreshment."

4. I.e., in heaven.

© Copyright Z. Philip Ambrose


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