Writing in 1801, Franz Joseph Haydn recalled a remarkable Lenten service at the Oratory of the Holy Cave in Cádiz, Spain, for which he had written music in 1786:
Some fifteen years ago I was requested by a canon of Cádiz to compose instrumental music on the Seven Last Words of Our Savior On the Cross. It was customary at the Cathedral of Cádiz to produce an oratorio every year during Lent, the effect of the performance being not a little enhanced by the following circumstances. The walls, windows, and pillars of the church were hung with black cloth, and only one large lamp hanging from the center of the roof broke the solemn darkness. At midday, the doors were closed and the ceremony began. After a short service the bishop ascended the pulpit, pronounced the first of the seven words (or sentences) and delivered a discourse thereon. This ended, he left the pulpit and fell to his knees before the altar. The interval was filled by music. The bishop then in like manner pronounced the second word, then the third, and so on, the orchestra following on the conclusion of each discourse. My composition was subject to these conditions, and it was no easy task to compose seven adagios lasting ten minutes each, and to succeed one another without fatiguing the listeners; indeed, I found it quite impossible to confine myself to the appointed limits.
On Friday afternoon's Classical Music With Foley Schuler we will, in honor of Good Friday, hear a complete performance of Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Christ—in the version he would make a year after it's premiere for string quartet—and more.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon from 1 until 4 pm on Blue Lake Public Radio.
