7 Last Words of Christ : V.Jurowski / London Philharmonic & Choir, L.Milne, Donose, A.Kennedy, Maltman

Haydn:
The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross, Hob XX/2 (Choral version)
Recorded live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, London, on 28 November 2009

Lisa Milne (soprano), Ruxandra Donose (mezzo soprano)
Andrew Kennedy (tenor), Christopher Maltman (baritone)
London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir / Vladimir Jurowski, conductor

Most often performed in an arrangement for string quartet, this recording of Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross is a unique proposition - offering Haydn’s original instrumental meditations alongside their choral counterparts. Vladimir Jurowski writes ‘I felt it was important to hear the music first in its original shape, and then what it has become…the words are no longer the central focus, but a variation, another layer of pre-existing material.’ This series of seven Easter meditations includes some of Haydn’s most intense and inventive music, evoking the struggle of Christ’s final hours and the solemnity of the church’s Holy Week services. Recorded live in 2009, the reduced string forces of the London Philharmonic Orchestra combine really well with a lovely sense of ensemble. ‘…a performance of real integrity, Vladimir Jurowski pacing perfectly this predominantly slow, often gravely beautiful music, the use of non-vibrato strings adding a terse, authentic edge.’ Classical Source on The Seven Last Words at London’s Royal Festival Hall, 2009.