Jesus Christus ist um unsrer Missetat willen verwundet is a St Mark Passion which originated in the early 18th century and is most often attributed to Reinhard Keiser. It may also have been composed by his father Gottfried or by Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns. Johann Sebastian Bach produced three performance versions of the Passion, the last of which is a pasticcio with arias from George Frideric Handel's Brockes Passion. There are two other extant 18th-century versions of the Passion, both of them independent of Bach's versions. The Passion was performed in at least three cities in the first half of the 18th century: in Hamburg in 1707 and 1711, in Weimar around 1712, and in Leipzig in 1726 and around 1747.
History
The passion was probably composed around 1705 by Gottfried Keiser, by his son Reinhard, or by Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns. The 18th-century scores of the composition don't always indicate a composer, but the name of Reinhard Keiser or "Kaiser" is found there. The work can also be considered as an anonymous composition. The music of this passion is known from Bach's three versions, from an anonymous manuscript score that originated in or around Hamburg, and from another anonymous manuscript score that is conserved in the county of Hohenstein, Thuringia. No libretto author for the original work is known. Also for the later arrangements text authors are largely unknown, except for the pasticcio parts by Handel based on the Brockes Passion by Barthold Heinrich Brockes.
1707–1714: Hamburg and Weimar
The oldest record of Jesus Christus ist um unsrer Missetat willen verwundet is a staging in the Cathedral (Dom) of Hamburg in 1707. Shortly before the end of the 20th century a printed libretto of that performance, and that of a repeat performance in 1711, were rediscovered. These performances were directed by Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns (also spelled: Brauns), the music director of the Hamburg Cathedral from 1685 to 1718, hence the association of the Passion setting with this composer. Possibly the versions performed in Hamburg in 1707 and 1711 were adapted from an earlier lost version, maybe not even composed for Hamburg. The earliest extant copy of the music of the Passion was produced by Johann Sebastian Bach for performance in Weimar around 1712. Which model was used by Bach is not known: it may have differed from the scores used in Hamburg. Bach's adjustments to the score he had before him were probably minor.
The libretto has the Biblical text interspersed with free verse and chorale texts. The chorale texts are taken from "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit" by Albert, Duke of Prussia (verse 1), "Christus, der uns selig macht" by Michael Weiße (Verse 8), "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" by Paul Gerhardt (verses 9 and 10), and "O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid" by Johann Rist. Unlike Passions for instance written for Leipzig, there is no division of the work into two parts.
Voices: Evangelist: tenor Jesus: bass Peter: tenor Judas: alto High priest: alto Ancilla (maid): soprano Pilate: tenor Soldier: alto Centurion: alto Solo arias (and chorale No. 23 (42)) for soprano, for alto, for tenor and for bass Choir: SATB
Orchestra: Winds: Oboes I (also used in No. 30) and II Strings: Violins I and II Violas I and II Basso continuo (bassoon; 2 cellos, bass; organ/harpsichord)
1707/1711 Hamburg version
The original version of the Passion would have been composed around 1705. Its first Hamburg performance took place in the Cathedral in 1707, under the direction of Bruhns, who also conducted the Hamburg performance of 1711.
Bach's Weimar version
Bach's first version, BC 5a, originated in the early 1710s in Weimar. Whether he changed anything to the original is uncertain, but the arrangement of the "O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn" and "O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid" chorales is usually attributed to him. Possibly he also composed the first "Symphonia" (No. 10 [18]), which is only found in Bach's versions.
Bach's Leipzig versions
Bach performed Jesus Christus ist um unsrer Missetat willen verwundet twice in a Good Friday service in Leipzig.
1726
Bach staged the passion in a new version, BC 5b, in 1726 in Leipzig. The order of service in Leipzig requested passions in two parts: apparently for this reason Bach added the chorale "So gehst du nun, mein Jesu", BWV 500a, as a conclusion for the first part. In this version he also slightly modified the "O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn" and "O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid" chorale settings.