Composer: Haydn
Compositions: The Seven Last Words
of Christ on the Cross
Performers: Ensemble Resonanz/Minasi
Catalogue Number: Harmonia Mundi HMM902633

To me, this work is probably one of the best of Haydn’s (many) masterpieces. It’s also one of his strangest, consisting of seven sonata movements and a flashy “earthquake” ending. Each movement represents Haydn’s reflection on one of Christ’s seven last words, and almost every one is in a different key. Excepting the finale, each is also exceptionally slow, with performances of the whole thing usually ending up about an hour long. This must have been a difficult work...