Back in Virginia, I chanted the part of the Evangelist in the St. John's Passion on Good Friday numerous times at St. Thomas Aquinas in Charlottesville, always grateful that one of the Dominican priests (Greg Salamone) there absolutely loved to sing the part of Jesus (and he was a fantastic baritone). I remember we chanted from copy that had been hand transcribed in modern notation, with typed underlay. To have this set in square note chant notation brings back a flood of wonderful memories. I recall the great sense of drama and sadness at the exchange between the Evangelist and Jesus:

E: ... When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, C: “It is fin-ished.” E: And bowing his head, he handed o-ver the spirit.

More than once, I was in tears when we knelt and paused for a short time. Fortunately, the immediately following chant for the Evangelist was basically on a reciting tone, making it possible to regain any lost composure (Father Greg had an easier time of it, since he was done!). Perhaps the most poignant part (for me at least) was yet to come when the Evangelist chants for a third and final time the same melismatic figure on "they have pierced" (previously chanted on "he said," and "o-ver the spirit.":

E: ... “They will look upon him whom they have pierced."

The poignancy is made all the more emphatic by the immediately ensuing mode change, which (to me at least) seems to lend a sense of comfort, anticipation, and fulfillment (in the coming Resurrection):

E: After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus ...

To sing the Evanglist part was, for me, not only to narrate the events of the Passion, but to relive and bear witness to them. The stunned silence of a packed church of university students, faculty, staff, and families and kind words and hugs (later, after the liturgy) from numerous people weren't so much as a "job well done" but a "thank you" and a reassurance to me that we all share in these holy mysteries.