Haydn: Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze
3/22/2019, 9 Tracks, 1:03:55
Featuring
Riccardo Minasi
Ensemble Resonanz
Joseph Haydn
Did you know?
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Composer's Artistic Vision
Haydn meticulously 'set' the Latin text of each of the Seven Last Words into a singable phrase that becomes a thematic motif within each sonata.
Compositional Technique
Haydn's composition frames the seven 'Sonatas' with an 'Introduzione' and a concluding 'Il Terremoto' (The Earthquake), which depicts the earthquake after Christ's death.
Compositional Technique
The task of composing seven adagios, each lasting about ten minutes, to succeed one another without fatiguing the listener, was considered a difficult challenge by Haydn himself.
Critical Reception
Despite its length and slow, severe music, the original orchestral version of Haydn's The Seven Last Words quickly became successful across Europe.
Composition History
The work was designed for a unique service in Cádiz where an oratorio was performed, with a bishop delivering homilies between musical sections.
Composition History
Joseph Haydn was commissioned by a canon of Cádiz to compose instrumental music on the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross for a special Lenten service.
Compositional Technique
Haydn ensured variety by giving each of the seven 'Sonatas' a different key and varying degrees of 'slowness' in their tempo markings.
