As every
Haydn aficionado knows, the music master from Esterhazy wrote four versions of his mighty and majestic Die Sieben letztne Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze (The Last Seven Words of Our Savior on the Cross): the fortepiano version, the string quartet version, the orchestral version, and the oratorio version. Over the years, there have been many great recordings of the quartet version, a few good recordings of the orchestral version, a decent recording of the oratorio version, and no good recordings of the fortepiano version because all of them shrink
Haydn's mighty and majestic work down to the size of a cramped valise.
Not on this 2002 BIS recording by
Ronald Brautigam it's not. From the crashing opening Intrada Maestoso e Adagio through the smashing closing Il Terremoto Presto,
Brautigam's performance is tremendously gigantic and amazingly gargantuan. This does not mean that the seven central sonatas are not exquisitely wrought and intensely expressive; indeed, the passionate lyricism of
Brautigam's playing is almost vocal in its expressivity. But the overwhelming intent of
Brautigam's performance is to evoke the profound emotions and reveal the spiritual depths of the last seven words of our Savior on the cross and in this,
Brautigam entirely succeeds. Despite the great performances of the work already in existence,
Brautigam's deserves an honored place as one of the greatest. BIS' sound is incredibly vivid and immediate.