Listening at the Cross: The Seven Last Words of Christ

St. Francis Music Academy (SFMA) cordially invites you to attend a concert featuring Haydn’s string quartet The Seven Last Words of Christ, performed by Alabama Symphony musicians. The music will be accompanied by meditative readings from the collection Echoes from Calvary.

The Seven Last Words of Christ is one of Haydn’s most profound works. Initially composed for a full orchestra in 1783, as a commission for a Good Friday service at Oratorio de la Santa Cueva in Cádiz, Spain, the work was later adapted by the composer for string quartet and also as an oratorio. Dark and meditative at times, powerfully dramatic and even painful at other times, the music is always deeply moving and inviting to contemplation. The seven main sections are labeled sonatas and are all slow; they are framed by a solemn Introduction and a conclusion depicting the final Earthquake, for a total of nine movements. The meditative readings that will accompany Haydn’s music are from the collection Echoes from Calvary (2005), edited by Richard Young.

The musicians performing Haydn’s string quartet are members of The Alabama Symphony Orchestra: Daniel Szasz, violin; Serghei Tanas; violin; Zak Enikeev, viola; and Warren Samples, cello.

This free event is sponsored by St. Francis Music Academy (SFMA) and is open to the larger community. For more information, please contact Dr. Alina Voicu, Director of Music at avoicu@saintfrancismusic.org or at (205)807-5814.