Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross are unlike any other work in his output, even unlike any other work of the Classical period. It exists in multiple forms and multiple media: there are vocal, orchestral, and the string quartet version heard here. The work was apparently commissioned by a Spanish bishop and intended as a set of musical meditations on a group of seven utterances -- not words -- of the crucified Christ. Each movement is headed by one of these utterances ("My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?," "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit"), on which the bishop would discourse before the music was played. There is also a prelude and a representation of the earthquake that followed the crucifixion in biblical accounts. It would be interesting to give an "authentic" performance of the work, with a priest delivering homilies on the stages of the crucifixion as the work was played. As it stands, an hour of slow music seems something suited to a somber occasion. Each of the seven main movements, designated a sonata by Haydn, is more or less in sonata form; the music is not only slow but serious and substantial throughout. This performance, by the multinational
Quatuor Terpsycordes, strikes an almost hypnotic tone. The group uses violins from the nineteenth century, furnished with gut strings and Classical-style bows that create a smooth, mournful sound with consistent, subtle attacks. They make a case for the work's religious depths in an era that had few of them. With intimate, clear engineering, this recording is worth considering among the string quartet versions available.