Ignat Solzhenitsyn (biography)
PROGRAMME:
Joseph Haydn
The Seven Last Words of Christ
The Narrator: Avangard Leontiev
The Seven Last Words of Christ (1787) holds a special place among the works of Joseph Haydn. There are versions of the work for orchestra, for string quartet, for piano and an oratorio. For over two centuries now these four versions have rivalled each other in terms of their popularity. Haydn received the commission to write the work from Spain. We know of the circumstances surrounding the first performance at the cathedral in Cádiz during Holy Week from the composer’s own words – from his preface to the first publication of the oratorio version in 1801. Haydn wrote that “The walls, windows and columns of the church were totally covered in black cloth and just one large chandelier in the centre burned amid utter darkness. By midday all the doors were closed; that was when the music began. After a becoming welcome the archbishop ascended into the pulpit, pronounced one of the seven words and spoke thereof. When he was finished he descended from the pulpit and bowed before the altar. This pause was reflected in the music. The archbishop rose again and spoke from the pulpit a second and third time etc., and each time he finished speaking the orchestra would perform. My work had to match this action. The task of composing seven Adagios, each lasting ten minutes, one following the last without tiring the listeners was no easy one...”
Haydn brilliantly coped with the task at hand, a truly unique one (the only comparable work might be Dmitry Shostakovich’s Fifteenth String Quartet which includes six slow movements). The composer could well be proud of the result and the success of The Seven Last Words. Haydn had succeeded in creating a lofty and triumphant work and he achieved the most tremendous variety of expression without abandoning the precepts of the church style. The work features two Introductions, seven “sonatas” (slow pieces in sonata form, each interpreted afresh) and an impetuous finale vividly depicting the earthquake that took place at Christ’s death.
The arrangement for piano was commissioned by the Viennese publisher Artaria and was published as Op. 49. It met with the approval of Haydn, who made several amendments, adding that the “piano arrangement is worthy of lofty praise, it has been done brilliantly and with particular attentiveness.” Initially the work enjoyed huge success and in a very short period it was republished nine times – in Berlin, London and Naples. With the passing of time, however, it came to be performed less frequently and today’s performance of this version is something of a rarity.
Ignat Solzhenitsyn has conducted the orchestral version on numerous occasions. He has significantly reworked the arrangement, taking into account the perfectionism of contemporary piano technique and the possibilities of modern-day instruments. At the same time, he has tried to convey, on the piano, all the colours of Haydn’s orchestra and approach, as close as possible, the original orchestral score.
Anna Bulycheva
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