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Haydn's Meditations on the Crucifixion
No repertoire for string quartet, not even late Beethoven, presents greater interpretive challenges than Haydn's Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross (Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze). The work is a series of meditations that can sound either intensely profound and uplifting or plodding and colorless, depending on the performance. Haydn himself complained about the difficulty of composing seven consecutive slow movements that would not "fatigue the listener," but rather "produce the deepest impression ... in his soul."
Given the limitations he set for himself, Haydn uses a number of devices to maintain the listener's interest. As violinist Eugene Drucker points out in his liner notes to the Emerson Quartet's 2004 recording on Deutsche Grammophon (DG 474 836-2), the composer introduces a variety of "tone-painting, surprising juxtaposition of materials and an extremely varied harmonic palette." It's also some of the most original and unpretentious music that Haydn ever wrote, though it takes a really convincing performance to pull it off, as the Emerson capably demonstrates. The cycle was a commission from Spain's Cathedral of Cádiz for its 1787 Holy Week services. It remains a staple of church music programs around Easter, right alongside Bach's Passions and Handel's Messiah. Each movement is a meditation on a comment made by Jesus during his Crucifixion, which was to be interspersed with appropriate Gospel readings and sermons. Originally scored for full orchestra (with kettledrums and trumpets for the "earthquake" section), Haydn was eager that the Seven Last Words should gain wider circulation and thus arranged it for piano, as an oratorio for chorus, and as a string quartet. Most quartets play the arrangement as published, but the Emerson—three of whose members (violinists Drucker and Philip Setzer, and violist Lawrence Dutton) studied at Juilliard—decided to look back to the orchestral original and restore some of the missing sonorities otherwise assigned to the orchestra's wind section. They've also added a brief Largo that was unique to the choral version. The Emerson—which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2001 with The Haydn Project, a two-CD recording of seven of his most famous quartets—stands out from the crowd on purely interpretive grounds. As a whole, the quartet's tone is warmer, more luxurious than most other ensembles'. Critics often find that the final "earthquake" sequence doesn't measure up in force to its descriptive title, but the Emerson endows it with plenty of drama on its own terms, making for a powerful conclusion.
For a far different approach, listen to the Rosamunde Quartet's version (ECM 289-461-780-2). With its vibratoless string sound matched to a cathedral-like acoustic, the Rosamunde emphasizes starkness and anguish in contrast to the Emerson's warmth and expressiveness. Different still is the Juilliard String Quartet's 1987 account on Sony Classical (SK 44914). The Seven Last Words was long a favorite of the J.S.Q. and they bring to it a sumptuous string tone and leisurely tempos. But what's most remarkable is their inclusion of a vocal quartet (Benita Valente, Jan DeGaetani, Jon Humphrey, and Thomas Paul), so that the piece becomes, essentially, a hybrid of the oratorio and string quartet versions. Also worth exploring are the many orchestral performances of the piece, including a 1990 version by the Orchestra of St. Luke's under Julius Rudel (Music Masters 60238). Regardless of the version you prefer, The Seven Last Words is a timeless statement in restraint and humanism at a time when sensational depictions of the Crucifixion seem to be in vogue at the movies and elsewhere. What's more, it ultimately transcends its specifically Christian origins as a universal meditation on the nature of suffering and transcendence.Mention this column at the Juilliard Bookstore to receive a 5-percent discount on this month's featured recordings. (In-store purchases only.) Brian Wise is a producer at WNYC radio and writes about music for The New York Times, Time Out New York, Opera News, and other publications.
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