Haydn's masterpiece from the Passiontide in its string quartet version, with the Latin inscriptions for each movement as a liturgical preface.

Haydn was invited to compose reflections on the Seven Last Words for a Good Friday service in Cádiz in 1787 and originally wrote a cycle of pieces for chamber orchestra. True to his practical approach, he soon adapted the piece for string quartet and then as a vocal oratorio, at the same time authorizing the publication of an arrangement for solo piano. The Seven Last Words, thus widely performed, was soon widely performed and recognized as Haydn's peak of inspiration.

Although the form of the work - seven slow movements, crowned by a Presto that evokes the terrible effects of the earthquake that had reduced Cadiz to rubble just a generation earlier in 1755 - promises solemnity rather than variety on paper, Haydn takes his cue from the texts that have come down to us as the last words of Christ. Thus the melodies of each movement have their own specific vocal contours, while the accompaniments vividly evoke the anguish, loneliness, but also the peace and serenity that these phrases embody.

Although quartet performances of the Seven Last Words are probably more common than any other version, they lose sight of the specific, spiritual context of Haydn's ardent and pious inspiration. This new recording re-establishes this connection between text and music. As an ensemble based in Milan Cathedral, this outstanding quartet of Italian musicians is already well practiced in finding the balance between solemnity and drama in such music. For the sake of clarity, however, they made this recording in a modern studio.

Outside the cathedral, the musicians in the quartet (violinists Andrea Pecolo and Stefano Lo Re, violist Matteo Amadasi and cellist Alfredo Persichilli) are all regular members of the La Scala orchestra. Aldo Cazzullo, an experienced Italian reporter and journalist and currently deputy managing director of Corriere della Sera, lends both dignity and authority to the inscriptions.