Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt
Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt is a pasticcio Passion oratorio based on compositions by Carl Heinrich Graun, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Sebastian Bach and others.
The backbone of the Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt pasticcio is Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld, a Passion cantata by Carl Heinrich Graun: 31 of the pasticcio's 42 movements derive from this composition.
[1] The text authors of the pasticcio and its components are largely unknown, apart from those of the Lutheran hymn texts, for instance Paul Gerhardt's "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" (movement 18), and Michael Weiße's "Christus, der uns selig macht" (movements 2, 24, 27, 30, 38, 40 and 42).
There is no direct quote from the Gospel's Passion texts: the Passion's story isn't told by an Evangelist role in recitatives, nor in direct speech by any of its characters such as a vox Christi or turba choruses, but exclusively hinted at by the reflective texts of the free verse and the chorales.
[1] Graun's Passion cantata was composed in Braunschweig between 1725 and 1735, and was popular and widely spread for over a century after its composition.
The opening chorus of Bach's cantata Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott, BWV 127 appears revised, and transposed to E-flat major, as the 19th movement in the Pasticcio.
[14][15] The arioso for bass voice "So heb ich denn mein Auge sehnlich auf" is the 20th movement of the pasticcio.
In the second half of the 20th century it was attributed to Bach on stylistic grounds, and added as one of the Nachträge (later additions) to the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, under the number 1088.
[16][17][18] "Der Gerechte kömmt um", the 39th movement of the pasticcio, is an arrangement for SSATB chorus and instrumental ensemble of the Tristis est anima mea motet attributed to Kuhnau.
20th-century editions of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis don't list this setting of Isaiah 57:1–2 (i.e., BWV deest): in the Bach Compendium it is known as D 10/3 (as part of the pasticcio) or C 8 (as a separate motet).
19–42) starts with the first two Bach-movements, followed by further Graun movements interspersed with six stanzas of the "Christus, der uns selig macht" hymn, and as No.
There are eleven recitatives, some of which with continuo accompaniment exclusively, to be divided among the soprano, alto and tenor soloists.
In the 19th century, Karl Hermann Bitter described Graun's Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld, and the Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt Passion oratorio.
[1][31] In 1990 the pasticcio was recorded by Martina Lins (soprano), Ralf Popken (countertenor), Markus Brutscher (tenor), Hans-Georg Wimmer (bass), the Rheinische Kantorei and the Kleine Konzert, conducted by Hermann Max.
[32] In the first half of 2019, Gotthold Schwarz conducted Concerto Vocale and the Saxon Baroque Orchestra Leipzig in a recording of Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt.
[33] Another recording of the Passion oratorio was realized in 2020, by György Vashegyi conducting the Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra.
