Oratory.
On the vastly different life and death of the ungodly and the godly.
Johann Daniel Pucklitz (1747)
Part one
Sinfonia (Allegro, Andante, Presto)
Chorale [1st stanza of the song Ich bin ja, Herr, in deiner Macht by Heinrich Albert].
Here I am, Lord, in your power,
Thou hast brought me to the light,
You also sustain my life.
You know my number of months,
you also know when this paddock of tears
I must say good night again.
Where, how and when I am to die,
You know, O Father, better than well.
[Dictum]
Bass: This is the eternal law: man, you must die! [Syr 14:17].
Recital
Tenor: Yes, indeed an eternal law.
The first couple that God's hand created,
to which He gave His image,
announced his lips,
that the honour of the purest obedience
is due to Him for His graciousness.
He showed her the fruits of disobedience,
a state of misery and poverty.
Meanwhile
it has destroyed its own prosperity
and chose death for herself and for us.
Therefore, it cannot be otherwise:
Soprano, alto, tenor, bass: We children must inherit it
and all die.
Aria
Alt: No one is free from dying,
everyone must rave
accept payment,
which disobedience brings.
Also the greats of this world,
whose power oppresses everything,
have to find out,
that the truth is one:
No one is free from dying.
Chorale
No one will acquit themselves here,
no one can overturn a judgment,
nobody here, whoever they are,
nothing to say:
Or majesty, wealth, splendour,
good and power
cannot take revenge for death?
No, the whole world must want
submit to these rules,
No one can, when they like,
say goodbye to life.
You may or may not want it,
this necessity
can harness the will.
Recital
Bass: Just like the big ones in this people
is characterised by similarity,
so great is the difference in courage,
which they display in the face of death.
Alt: Some people can't
refrain from sadness,
when talking about dying.
Bass: And many are pushing
Anxiety to sigh and wail.
They can be heard saying:
Arioso tutti
Ah! what a harsh end,
When body and spirit must part.
Aria
Bass: Many do not die willingly.
Apprehension and fear permeate the members,
courage and hope are waning.
When a person remembers,
who offers his heart to joy,
which experiences continued prosperity,
it does not die willingly.
Recital
Tenor: To allay this anxiety,
they shall choose
a comfortable life for themselves;
their will to remain here is permanent,
do what is pleasing to their hearts,
and are subjects of the world
hated vanity.
They never think
Of the One who can alleviate their fears.
They talk amongst themselves:
Aria tutti
Let us live freely and cheerfully
and let everyone know,
what a joyful time we had!
Who misses an opportunity
and still contemplates his death,
this one will be laughed at by us. Da capo
Chorale [the first two stanzas of the song O! wie mögen wir doch unser Leben by Heinrich Albert].
O! how we can our lives,
which is subject to the world and its pleasures,
with themselves separate
from the peace of the pious and a thousand joys?
Don't we, too, after the fleeting years of
heading towards the dead to the grave?
And it will happen then,
That everyone will see their payoff.
Recital
Bass: Who can't see and understand,
that these people
forever
are they preparing the greatest misfortune for themselves?
Soprano: Separate themselves from God's face
and it is this that intensifies
at the end of their time of horror:
It succeeds
their spirit in fear and trembling
To hell, to a place of torment.
Aria
Soprano: O mortals, of your senses
do not sacrifice too much joy.
Go, rush, refuge from here;
The world does not have to be a flat for you. Da capo
Chorale [3rd stanza of the song Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende by Ämilia Juliana von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt].
Alt: Lord, teach me to always remember my end,
and if I ever have to die,
teach me to immerse my soul in the wounds of Jesus
and spare not my penance.
Tutti: My God, please through the blood of Christ,
take care of my end.
Recital
Bass: Anguish, fear and agony,
in which damned souls suffer,
will be continuous.
Soprano: The enormity of the sorrow cannot be described.
Tenor: The slave who lies bound,
he hopes to be free at last;
It is therefore based on
all work and toil.
Meanwhile, for ever
the punishment of the condemned must continue,
no matter how much they expect
and yearned for a time of freedom.
Aria tutti
Get down, mountains, get down,
cover us, choke the spirit!
O! more than monstrous pains,
How you torment and oppress our hearts!
O! infinitely hot flames,
Who will pull us out of this heat? Da capo
Chorale [11th stanza of the song O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort by Johann Rist].
As long as God exists in heaven
and hovers over all worlds,
these torments will last.
They will be plagued by cold and sweltering temperatures,
fear, hunger, terror, fire and lightning,
and yet they will never absorb them.
There will, however, be an end to the ordeal,
When God is no longer eternal.
Part two
Chorale [13th and 14th stanza of the song Meinen Jesum lass ich nicht, meine Seel' by Johann Friedrich Mayer].
Don't leave me, my Jesus,
as my end draws near,
When my sense and heart breaks,
Jesus, take your hands
my spirit, the light of my life.
I will not abandon my Jesus.
I am sure of that too,
because my Jesus promised it to me,
that from the darkness of death
will snatch me away with his strong hand.
Therefore, says my soul:
Amen, I will not abandon Jesus.
Recital
Tenor: Very clearly death
believer is different from that one.
He is calm and joyful
and sees it as something,
Which can bring him more joy than temporality.
Keeps in faith
Saviour, who death of all power
with his strength deprived.
He will not allow Himself to be taken away:
This will free him from all poverty.
Aria duetto
Soprano and alto: Admirable strength of faith!
which gives us both comfort and peace,
when we leave temporality.
When more than one spirit is frightened,
a true Christian rejoices.
He knows his Salvation, he can calm down. Da capo
Chorale [1st stanza of the song O Tod, was willst du schrecken? by Johann Quirsfeld].
About death, who do you want to scare?
My Jesus wants to shield me,
when you lay me down in the womb of the earth;
I am supposed to be alive,
when the spirit is raised in the Lord.
Recital
Bass: The courage of a Christian
further intensifies this,
that only for a short time
it will be covered in gunpowder.
He has, once he has rested,
beamed out of his grave;
therefore usually with joy
talks about his death:
Aria
Bass: Lay my body in the grave.
Do you think to see me scared?
This will never happen.
Even when the body tent is destroyed,
it will not weaken my courage.
After all, I will
off the ground
dead
arise,
when the voice of the Most High comes.
Therefore, lay the body in the grave.
Chorale [4th stanza of the song Jesus, meine Zuversicht attributed to Luise Henriette von Oranien].
I am the body and therefore I must
also turn to dust one day.
I know this, after all He
will raise me from the ground,
so that in glory
could be with him continually.
Recital
Tenor: How right it is to want to die,
which moves the believer.
Alt: He knows bliss,
To which God's grace leads him.
Bass: It costs satisfaction,
which rejoices the redeemed spirit.
Tenor: He is aware,
that it looks over the kingdom,
where you see nothing but peace and quiet,
as just a delight;
Where there is no life limited by poverty,
where the heavenly hosts try
in the new song
to praise the goodness of the Most High.
+
Chorale [4th stanza of the song Alle Menschen müssen sterben by Johann Georg Albinus or Johann Rosenmüller].
Soprano: There will be a life of joy,
there are already many thousands of souls
surrounded by heavenly splendour,
standing before God's throne.
There the seraphs shine
and intone an arch-song:
Tutti: Holy, holy, holy is
God the Father, the Son and the Spirit.
Aria
Soprano: O eternal delight! Tenor: O heavenly life!
Alt: O joy unbroken by any sorrow!
Bass: Who can duly praise the grace of the Most High,
that refreshes the citizens of Heaven?
Soprano: Who can fathom it?
Tenor: Who can penetrate it?
Bass: This is impossible here:
Alt: The language is too weak.
Tutti: There we will be able to describe it more clearly.
O eternal bliss! O heavenly life!
Chorale [6th and 7th stanza of the song Alle Menschen müssen sterben by Johann Georg Albinus or Johann Rosenmüller].
Bass: Ah! Jerusalem, how beautiful you are,
ah! how brightly you shine!
Ah! how pleasantly laudatory
there in the midst of blissful tranquillity!
O! of great joy and delight
Here rises the sun,
here the day begins,
which cannot end.
Tutti: Ah! I have already seen
this great magnificence.
Now I am beautifully adorned
a white heavenly robe;
and with a golden crown of glory
I stand there before God's throne,
I watch these joys,
which cannot end.
Recital
Tenor: Out of this bliss,
which rejoices the believers there,
it draws
the most obvious evidence,
How passionately God loves people.
And this love makes,
That he scoffs at futility.
Soprano: It is ready,
Supreme word and will
fulfil with all your might.
He perceives the joy of the world,
which has fettered many a spirit,
as something,
Which cannot last.
It feeds pure lust in its soul;
briefly: body and spirit are consecrated to God.
Aria
Soprano: Down, fleeting joy of this world!
You can, admittedly, worry me,
but nothing will truly make me happy.
I choose what is pleasing to God.
I want to continually stand by him;
nothing can silence my fervent desire
like what His graciousness provides for me.
Down, fleeting joy of this world!
Chorale [5th stanza of the song Warum willst du draußen stehen by Paul Gerhardt].
In the world, everything is trivial,
there is nothing that is not powerless.
If I have power, it is fleeting,
if I have wealth, what is more
than a piece of barren land?
If I experience contentment, what is it worth?
What is it that rejoices me today,
and what will I not regret tomorrow?
Recital
Alt: Christian wishes
in holy desire
embrace Tego,
who is the source of all love;
to go as quickly as possible in peace to the multitude of
the redeemed righteous.
Arioso
Where no weakness will be a ghost anymore
detach from God and his love.
Aria
Tenor: The longed-for hours of death!
Hurry, take me to this land,
Where my Love rules,
where peace and quiet reside.
O! untie the knot,
which fetters body and spirit.
The longed-for hours of death!
take me to this land.
Chorale [18th and 19th stanzas of the song Den die Engel droben mit Gesange loben by Caspar Ziegler and Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen].
Give me with mortality
finally say goodbye.
Here is my undoing:
my wish is to die.
I wish to live,
Lord, at your throne,
so that I can close up
view divinity and humanity.
Recital
Tenor: However, he gives up
always the will of the Most High,
when His wisdom is not pleasing
the fulfilment of what he desires.
And as the time of dying approaches,
leaves as a hero of faith
out of this world
towards that great glory.
Aria
Bass: There he celebrates grace, there he praises faithfulness,
With joyful singing and cheerful shouting.
Tutti: Oh, let's all join in
with cheerful tones
to songs perfected in faith!
They live in joy,
do not suffer.
They celebrate grace, praise faithfulness
With joyful singing and cheerful shouting.
Chorale [3rd stanza of the song Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme by Philippa Nicolai].
Bass: Gloria be sung to you:
Tutti: in human and angelic languages,
on harps and dulcimer.
Bass: About twelve pearls are the gates
Tutti: Your city. And we are companions
angels high at your throne.
Bass: No eye could see,
Tutti and bass: no ear heard
Tutti: such joy.
That is why we rejoice:
yo, yo!
for ever in sweet merriment.