On this release, Haydn's Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross, in Haydn's own string quartet version published as Op. 51, is interwoven with a new composition for three voices, Les sept dernières parole ("The Seven Last Words") by Dominique Vellard, who is also the longtime director of the Ensemble Gilles Binchois. Part of the appeal of the idea is that Haydn's work stands so alone in music history. Vellard states that his inspiration came from looking for a work to pair with the Haydn, finding none, and deciding to ...
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On this release, Haydn's Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross, in Haydn's own string quartet version published as Op. 51, is interwoven with a new composition for three voices, Les sept dernières parole ("The Seven Last Words") by Dominique Vellard, who is also the longtime director of the Ensemble Gilles Binchois. Part of the appeal of the idea is that Haydn's work stands so alone in music history. Vellard states that his inspiration came from looking for a work to pair with the Haydn, finding none, and deciding to write one himself. The Vellard pieces, matching Haydn's keys, are given as preludes to the movements of Haydn's work, of which the Introduction and the final "Terremoto," or "Earthquake," remain unpaired. One might consider this a flaw in the concept, but a review of a program like this is difficult; listeners' reactions will be personal and may have much to do with their degree of adherence to the spirituality involved. Vellard's piece sounds superficially medieval, with chant-like...
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