After our last concert on February 2nd, we announced that we were planning to play Joseph Haydn’s masterpiece The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross on Good Friday, April 18th. This composition, originally for orchestra, but most ofetn performed for a string quartet, was commissioned in 1786 to Joseph Haydn for a Good Friday service. The devotional tradition of a musical meditation on the seven last words of Christ (or ultima septem verba) has inspired many compositions, as early as 1500. Most compositions are choral.

However, Haydn’s version for string quartet has a power that is very unique, as it is wordless, yet the theme for each of the seven adagios composed by Haydn is directly inspired by each “word”, and their meaning is both clear and deeper than any human voice could have made expressed them.

We unfortunately will not be able to play Haydn’s piece on April 18th this year…

We hope to be able to bring this masterpiece to you for Good Friday 2026. In the meantime, we hope to see you at our next concerts on May 24th-25th…

…and we warmly recommend that you watch the video of this beautiful interpretation of Haydn’s Seven Last Words by the Chiara quartet, 8 years ago.