The Crown of Thorns
O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden
Chorale
•Congregation
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No. 53cpart_62O sacred head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown;
O sacred head, what glory,
What bliss till now was thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.
Thy noble countenance,
Before which once did quake
The judgment of the world,
How is it now bespat!
How pale thou art become!
Who hath thy radiant eyes,
To which no light compareth,
So shamefully defaced?
German
English
O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden,
Voll Schmerz und voller Hohn,
O Haupt, zu Spott gebunden
Mit einer Dornenkron,
O Haupt, sonst schön gezieret
Mit höchster Ehr und Zier,
Jetzt aber hoch schimpfieret,
Gegrüßet seist du mir!
Du edles Angesichte,
Vor dem sonst schrickt und scheut
Das große Weltgerichte,
Wie bist du so bespeit;
Wie bist du so erbleichet !
Wer hat dein Augenlicht,
Dem sonst kein Licht nicht gleichet,
So schändlich zugericht't ?
O sacred head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown;
O sacred head, what glory,
What bliss till now was thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.
Thy noble countenance,
Before which once did quake
The judgment of the world,
How is it now bespat!
How pale thou art become!
Who hath thy radiant eyes,
To which no light compareth,
So shamefully defaced?
Modern adaptation
O head full of blood and wounds, full of pain and mockery. Once crowned with honor, now with thorns. I greet you reverently in your suffering.
Did you know?
The melody 'O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden' appears five times in total, each time with a different harmonization reflecting the emotion of the moment. Here it sounds a semitone lower than the first time, suggesting fatigue and resignation.
Chapters
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