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Brilliant Classics

Haydn: Die Sieben Letzte Worte unseres Erlosers am Kreuze fo

$12.99

Details

Composer
Joseph Haydn
Artist
Quartetto della Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano, Andrea Pecolo, Stefano Lo Re, Matteo Amadasi
Format
CD
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
Jan 09, 2026
Catalog #
BRI97745
UPC
5028421977454

About

Haydn's Passiontide masterpiece in it's string-quartet version, with the Latin inscriptions to each movement intoned as a liturgical preface. Invited to compose reflections on the Seven Last Words for a Good Friday service to be held in Cadiz in 1787, Haydn originally wrote a cycle of pieces for chamber orchestra. Ever practical, he soon adapted the piece for string quartet, and then as a vocal oratorio, while also authorizing a solo-piano arrangement for publication. Thus widely disseminated, the Seven Last Words soon became widely performed and recognised as Haydn at his most inspired. For all that the form of the work - seven slow movements capped by an Presto evoking the terrible effect of the earthquake which had reduced Cadiz to rubble just a generation earlier, in 1755 - promises more solemnity than variety on paper, Haydn takes his cue from the texts which have come down to us as Christ's final phrases. Thus the melodies for each movement have their own, specifically vocal contour, while the accompaniments graphically evoke the agony, the loneliness but also the peace and serenity which these phrases embody. While quartet performances of the Seven Last Words are probably more frequently encountered than any other version, they lose sight of this specific, spiritual context to Haydn's fervent and devout inspiration. The present, new recording restores that connection between text and music. As an ensemble resident at the Duomo in Milan, this fine quartet of Italian musicians is in any case well practised in striking the balance between solemnity and drama in such music. For the sake of clarity, however, they have made this recording in a modern studio. Away from the cathedral, the musicians of the quartet (violinists Andrea Pecolo and Stefano Lo Re, violist Matteo Amadasi and cellist Alfredo Persichilli) are all permanent members of the Orchestra of La Scala. Bringing both dignity and authority to the inscriptions, Aldo Cazzullo is an experienced Italian reporter and journalist, and current deputy managing director of the Corriere della Sera.

Tracklist 9 tracks

  1. 1 Introduction: Maestoso ed adagio 05:19
    Track
    1
    Title
    Introduction: Maestoso ed adagio
    Duration
    05:19
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Ensemble
    Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Quartetto
  2. 2 Sonata 1: Pater, dimitte illis; non enim sciunt quid faciunt 05:02
    Track
    2
    Title
    Sonata 1: Pater, dimitte illis; non enim sciunt quid faciunt
    Duration
    05:02
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Performer
    Aldo Cazzullo
    Ensemble
    Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Quartetto
  3. 3 Sonata 2: Amen dico tibi: hodie mecum eris in Paradiso 07:36
    Track
    3
    Title
    Sonata 2: Amen dico tibi: hodie mecum eris in Paradiso
    Duration
    07:36
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Performer
    Aldo Cazzullo
    Ensemble
    Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Quartetto
  4. 4 Sonata 3: Mulier, ecce filius tuus, et tu, ecce mater tua 07:58
    Track
    4
    Title
    Sonata 3: Mulier, ecce filius tuus, et tu, ecce mater tua
    Duration
    07:58
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Performer
    Aldo Cazzullo
    Ensemble
    Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Quartetto
  5. 5 Sonata 4: Eli, Eli, lama asabthani 08:43
    Track
    5
    Title
    Sonata 4: Eli, Eli, lama asabthani
    Duration
    08:43
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Performer
    Aldo Cazzullo
    Ensemble
    Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Quartetto
  6. 6 Sonata 6: Adagio 08:28
    Track
    6
    Title
    Sonata 6: Adagio
    Duration
    08:28
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Performer
    Aldo Cazzullo
    Ensemble
    Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Quartetto
  7. 7 Sonata 6: Lento 07:15
    Track
    7
    Title
    Sonata 6: Lento
    Duration
    07:15
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Performer
    Aldo Cazzullo
    Ensemble
    Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Quartetto
  8. 8 Sonata 7: Largo 08:38
    Track
    8
    Title
    Sonata 7: Largo
    Duration
    08:38
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Performer
    Aldo Cazzullo
    Ensemble
    Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Quartetto
  9. 9 Il terremoto. Presto e con tutta la forza 02:00
    Track
    9
    Title
    Il terremoto. Presto e con tutta la forza
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Ensemble
    Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Quartetto