Joseph Eybler: Ecce quomodo moritur, Responsorium, HV 125

The "Ecce quomodo moritur justus" is a traditional chant for Good Friday, typically performed a cappella during the entombment ceremony. The lyrics were written by the Slovenian Composer Jacobus Gallus (also known as Jacob Handl) and has been set to music by countless composers. Passend zur Grablegung beweint der Text den Tod Christi als unverständliche Tat, die dem einzig gerechten von einer ungerechten Welt zugefügt wurde.

The present edition of the "Ecce quomodo moritur justus" was composed by the Viennese Hofkapellmeister Joseph Edler von Eybler in 1816 and adds a second stanza with the text "Tanquam agnus" by the prophet Isaiah, also ending in "Et erit in pace memoria eius".

Like most Good Friday music, the piece is performed a cappella without an orchestra. However, the Austrian National Library also holds an arrangement by an unknown arranger (colla parte accompaniment by wind instruments), so this edition is available both as an Urtext full score (=choral score) for a cappella chorus, and as and arrangement for chorus with wind instruments.