The Evangelist reports in secco recitatives accompanied by basso continuo only. In the St John Passion the story consists of chapters 18 and 19 of John the Evangelist, the St Matthew Passion tells the complete chapters 26 and 27 of Matthew the Evangelist. The first versions of the St. John Passion contained two additional lines from Matthew mentioning the weeping of the disciple Peter and the tearing of the temple curtain. Bach composed the weeping in an expressive melisma and the tearing in a forceful downward run followed by tremolo, but removed the parts in later versions. The Christmas Oratorio follows Luke the Evangelist for parts 1 to 4, and St. Matthew for Parts 5 and 6. A St Mark Passion after Mark the Evangelist is lost, but has been reconstructed by several scholars. In the Ascension Oratorio the story is compiled verse by verse from different biblical sources. The Easter Oratorio is an exception, as a play of four biblical characters without narration.
Evangelist singers
Some tenors are known especially for their rendition of the Evangelist, including:
The Evangelist narrates in several cantatas. In Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22, the cantata starts with a scene from the Gospel, the announcement of suffering in Jerusalem, quoting. The tenor as the Evangelist begins the narration from the verse 31, Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe. The bass as the vox Christi sings the announcement of the suffering, Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, A choral fugue illustrates the reaction of the disciples. In Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV 42, the tenor opens after a Sinfonia, accompanied by the continuo in repeated fast notes, possibly illustrating the anxious heart beat of the disciples, when Jesus appears, "On the evening, however, of the same Sabbath, when the disciples had gathered and the door was locked out of fear of the Jews, Jesus came and walked among them",. In Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen, BWV 175, the tenor sings the opening recitative, "Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen und führet sie hinaus",. In Siehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden, BWV 88, the tenor begins part 2 with a recitative on, "Jesus sprach zu Simon". In Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17, the tenor begins part 2 with a recitative on.
Fifth Evangelist
Bach himself is frequently referred to as the Fifth Evangelist for his devoted interpretation of the biblical sources. In 1929 the Swedish bishop Nathan Söderblom had called Bach's cantatas the Fifth Gospel.
