Haydn Die Sieben Letzten Worte

The string quartet version is an arrangement by Haydn of his orchestral version; "the version recorded here is yet another reworking … Aware that all the reworkings had not disturbed the length and tenor of the original version, [the Juilliard Quartet] gathered four … vocal soloists … and worked out among themselves a version for string quartet and vocal quartet that incorporates the string quartet version in toto, plus as much of the oratorio version as would include its text and emotional impact".

The string quartet version is an arrangement by Haydn of his orchestral version; "the version recorded here is yet another reworking … Aware that all the reworkings had not disturbed the length and tenor of the original version, [the Juilliard Quartet] gathered four … vocal soloists … and worked out among themselves a version for string quartet and vocal quartet that incorporates the string quartet version in toto, plus as much of the oratorio version as would include its text and emotional impact".

This was, at one time, the most popular piece of music that Haydn composed. It was originally written as a series of eight slow movements (an introduction, then the seven "words") and a final "earthquake" designed to be performed in a Spanish church during Holy Week. So famous did the music become that some hack made a vocal version of the work, which Haydn felt he could do much better himself. So he created this oratorio, as well as making (or approving) arrangements for string quartet and solo piano! For the vocal version, he divided the work into two parts and added a stunning introduction to the second part for wind band alone.

Following a disc of cello concertos and symphonies by CPE Bach (Diapason d'Or, ffff Télérama), the musicians of the Ensemble Resonanz continue their very personal exploration of Eighteenth Century orchestral music. For several years now, under the direction of inspired conductor Maestro Riccardo Minasi, the ensemble has taken up the challenge of playing instruments with a ‘modern’ setup (violins, violas and basses with metal strings) with complete mastery of historically informed performance practice. Forty years after what has been called ‘the Baroque revolution’, it’s a pleasure to rediscover these nine orchestral movements literally inhabited by the divine words of Christ on the cross - and displaying that rhetorical skill of which Joseph Haydn was a peerless exponent.

Haydn’s Seven Last Words – a cycle of sacred adagios – has been lucky on record. There are excellent recordings no matter how you like the piece: in oratorio form (Jordi Savall, dramatic), the original orchestral (Riccardo Muti, dark-hued) or – most abundant – wide-ranging string quartet interpretations, from the poetic and period-instrument (Quatuor Mosaïques) to the intensely inward (Rosamunde Quartett). Cuarteto Casals has a quirkily formal sense of phrasing that can take some getting used to. Yet this group – from Spain, where the piece was premiered in 1787 – offers an alluring rendition in terms of timbre and texture, with the quartet’s period bows drawing out a sound that’s complex and vulnerable.