While the Klenke Quartett has recorded the "Haydn Quartets" of Mozart, Berlin Classics' Haydn: Sieben Worte reflects the group's first foray into the work of Haydn himself. Haydn's Die Sieben Letzten Worte Unseres Erlőse an Kreuze (Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross) is certainly anything but typical, being a stripped-down, black and white recasting of his now rarely heard orchestral work of that name; the string quartet version, ironically, is more frequently performed than any of the four versions Haydn created. ...
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While the Klenke Quartett has recorded the "Haydn Quartets" of Mozart, Berlin Classics' Haydn: Sieben Worte reflects the group's first foray into the work of Haydn himself. Haydn's Die Sieben Letzten Worte Unseres Erlőse an Kreuze (Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross) is certainly anything but typical, being a stripped-down, black and white recasting of his now rarely heard orchestral work of that name; the string quartet version, ironically, is more frequently performed than any of the four versions Haydn created. This Berlin Classics disc was recorded live at the Stadtkirche St. Peter und Paul in Weimar in 2006, presumably for a rapt audience, as there is no coughing or other distractions; likewise, the recording is full and dynamically alive as there is no applause at the end of the performance. That's not to say there aren't moments where the music is difficult to hear; the Klenke approaches a pianissimo as though it's a sacred object, something to be venerated and worshipped, and sometimes...
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