In 1786, Franz Joseph Haydn received an unusual commission from a Spanish priest. It was for an orchestral work to be performed for the Good Friday service at the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva, an underground church in the city of Cádiz. Haydn was asked to compose a series of slow, meditative “sonatas,” each relating to one of the seven last words of Christ during the crucifixion, as outlined in the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John.

Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ opens the door to a deep, contemplative drama. Monumental and seemingly timeless, the work defies the limits of a single genre. It cycles through a series of keys without establishing a “home,” giving us a sense of cosmic vastness. 

1. Introduction: Maestoso ed adagio (D minor)
2. Largo: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (B-flat major)
3. Grave e cantabile: Today shalt thou be with me in paradise (C minor, C major)
4. Grave: Woman, behold thy son (E major)
5. Largo: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (F minor)
6. Adagio: I thirst (A major)
7. Lento: It is finished (G minor, G major)
8. Largo: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit (E-flat major)
9. Coda: Il terremoto: The earth shook and the rocks split (C minor)