"Er kommt" from Bach-Boysen Markus Passion (Live and unedited)

This aria for soprano and strings comes at just after one of the critical moments in the Passion story. The betrayal of Judas has just passed, and Jesus is now awaiting his fate and his arrest. Needless to say, it is a stormy aria that is full of unsettled nervousness. In this particular aria, there is nothing unusual about the setting. As you might have noticed, a good chunk of the arias from this completion uses music borrowed from other cantatas and compositions by Bach and refitted with different text. This was a common compositional technique of the time called parody, when it is done skillfully, it can have quite a satisfying mesh between music and words. However, done without tact, it can be immensely jarring for the listener.

The performers are Musica Poetica (Hive account@musicapoetica) and Cantus Thuringia under the direction of Jorn Boysen. The concert was recorded live and unedited in Den Haag in 2016, on period instruments at 415Hz. Violinist is Hive account@bengy.

Music from Bach, BWV 198

Er kommt, er kommt, er ist vorhanden!
Mein Jesu, ach! er suchet dich,
Entfliehe doch, und lasse mich
Mein Heil, statt deiner in den Banden.

English translation

He comes, he comes, he is here!
My Jesus, alas! he seeks you;
oh flee, and leave me,
my Salvation, in your place in these bonds.