For Easter, Joseph Haydn wrote an oratorio. A new recording by the RIAS Chamber Choir and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin reveals its elegant qualities.
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – “It is finished.” The sentences spoken by the crucified Jesus belong to the most powerful in the Bible.
In Joseph Haydn’s time, they are likely familiar to churchgoers. Thus, when the composer received the commission in 1787 for a Passion setting on “The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross,” he could write a pure orchestral work in a dignified tempo, with instrumental sections designed to accompany contemplation of Jesus’ words. The success was significant, and Haydn subsequently prepared a version for string quartet and a version for two pianos.
“The Seven Last Words” had thus by no means exhausted him. Barely ten years later, after the wordless “Words,” followed an oratorio with soloists and chorus and, this time, text as well. Haydn thus approached Bach’s Easter music, albeit more modest in scope and with classical, refined expressiveness. Compared with Bach’s Passions, Haydn’s contribution to the Easter festival is less well known today.
Joseph Haydn: “The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross”. RIAS Chamber Choir, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Justin Doyle (Harmonia Mundi)
The recording by the RIAS Chamber Choir with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under Justin Doyle aims to change that. In it, choir and orchestra engage in a dialogue in which vocal and instrumental voices sometimes move almost liturgically in parallel, almost in unison.
That the result still sounds lean is also due to the ensembles involved. Above all, the RIAS Chamber Choir preserves a transparent timbre that suits this music superbly. The same goes for the quartet of soloists, which restrains itself exemplary even in dramatic moments. This does not diminish the expression; one can indeed be moved by this elegant clarity. In the end, even the earth trembles.
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