Tristis est anima mea (attributed to Kuhnau)

Tristis est anima mea
Sacred motet by Johann Kuhnau (attrib.)
Christ and His Disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane (Rembrandt)
English	My soul is exceedingly sorrowful
Key	F minor
Occasion	Maundy Thursday
Text	Matthew 26:38
Language	Latin
Vocal	SSATB

Tristis est anima mea (Sad is my soul) is a sacred motet for five voices attributed to Johann Kuhnau, Thomaskantor in Leipzig. The text is the second responsory at Tenebrae for Maundy Thursday, one of the Latin texts kept in the liturgy after the town converted to Lutheranism.

Kuhnau's successor at the Thomaskirche, Johann Sebastian Bach, adapted the music to a German text, Der Gerechte kömmt um, and added an instrumental accompaniment.