"This Jesus Must Die" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' by

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...

and

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...

, which also appears in the film version of ''

'', and on the album of the musical. In the 1973 film, it is sung primarily by

Bob Bingham Robert Franklin Bingham (born October 29, 1946) is a retired American actor and singer. Bingham is best known for playing the role of Caiaphas in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' in the first USA concer ...

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD), known simply as Caiaphas (; grc-x-koine, Καϊάφας, Kaïáphas ) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest who, according to the gospels, organized a plot to kill Jesus. He famous ...

and Kurt Yaghjian as

Annas Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; grc-x-koine, Ἅννας, ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High ...

; and on the 1970 album, by

Victor Brox Victor Brox (5 May 1941 – 20 February 2023) was an English blues musician. Early life and career Born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, he attended St Mary’s, Droylsden and William Hulme's Grammar School where he played trombone in the sch ...

as Caiaphas an
Brian Keith
as Annas, with Paul Raven and Tim Rice providing the voices of the priests. In the 2000 film it is sung by Frederick B. Owens as Caiaphas and Michael Shaeffer as Annas.

Theme

According to the official ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' website, in the song: The song is noted for, after a slow beginning, launching into more of a "

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

" feel than many other songs in the musical, and being sung by a "growling

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

-voiced Caiaphas and his screechy

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

minions". The song has also been described as "a throwback to pre-Second World War depictions" of " threatening Jews", although "their evil is somewhat modified".Pamela Grace, ''The Religious Film: Christianity and the Hagiopic'' (2009), p. 95. The priests sing a melody that comes from J. S. Bach's Bourrée in E minor. Indeed, the song begins with the Jewish priests fretting over the influence of the "rabble-rousing"

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

, but merely plotting to have him arrested.Joseph Peter Swain, ''The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey'' (2002), p. 320. It is Caiaphas who insists that the threat posed by a Roman crackdown, "our elimination, because of one man", can only be averted by the death of Jesus, which would deliver a demoralizing blow to the mob of mindless followers. The appearance of the song in the musical and in the film version of ''

'' is highlighted by an "emphasis on style". The film uses "low camera angles which give a distorted view of the priests",Frank Northen Magill, Stephen L. Hanson, Patricia King Hanson, ''Magill's American Film Guide'' (1983), Vol. 3, p. 1690. and "gives the priests extraordinary costumes", which includes "enormous, bizarrely shaped hats", black flowing robes, and "bare chests crossed by leather straps and chains".

References

External links

*, ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', 2000 film {{Lloyd Webber and Rice Songs from Jesus Christ Superstar 1971 songs Songs with lyrics by Tim Rice Songs with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber Songs about Jesus