Haydn: Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze, Hob. XX:2

Featuring

Justin Doyle
RIAS Kammerchor
Konzerthausorchester Berlin
Joseph Haydn

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Composition History

The work was intended for a special Good Friday liturgy in Cadiz, Spain, where each of Christ's 'Words' from the Cross was read, expounded upon, and followed by music.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Haydn considered the task of writing seven ten-minute Adagios without tiring the listener to be a significant challenge.

Compositional Technique

For his vocal arrangement, Haydn added two clarinets and two trombones to the orchestration, while removing two of the original four horn parts.

Composition History

Haydn created his own vocal arrangement of The Seven Last Words after hearing a version by Joseph Friebert, Kapellmeister in Passau, in 1794, stating, 'I think I could have handled the vocal parts better.'

Compositional Technique

Haydn's vocal version includes a new instrumental movement, a second 'Introduzione' for winds alone, which contemporaries judged 'among the most perfect music Haydn ever wrote' and features a contrabassoon for the first time in his output.

Composition History

Haydn composed The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross in 1786 as a purely orchestral work, commissioned by Don José Saenz de Santamaría, a priest from Mexico living in Cadiz, Spain.

Critical Reception

Haydn's original instrumental composition of The Seven Last Words became one of his best-known works, with editions appearing in London, Paris, and Vienna by 1787-88.