Search - Haydn, I Solisti di Zagreb, Janigro :: Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross

Haydn, Off the Beaten Path

T. Beers | Arlington, Virginia United States | 11/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At the height of his fame as Europe's most famous composer, Franz Josef Haydn was commissioned by the cathedral in Cadiz, Spain, to compose devotional music for Holy Week. He chose the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross and illustrated each with a contemplative adagio. A sequence of seven slow movements might seem a formula for tedium, but the music is truly affecting. Indeed, Haydn himself was so moved by what he wrote that he went on to adapt the Cadiz pieces for various genres including string quartet, solo piano, and a fully worked out choral oratorio. This Vanguard performance features the original string ensemble version performed by a world-renowned Croatian chamber orchestra led by the world-class 'cellist Antonio Janigro. (Some listeners will recognize Janigro as the wonderful cello soloist on Fritz Reiner's nonpareil RCA/BMG recording of Richard Strauss's "Don Quixote.") This Haydn disc is one of a number of gems recorded in Zagreb by Vanguard Records in the '60s, and it's still very special. As a string player himself, Janigro brought a lifetime's experience to working out the phrasing for each part of his ensemble; the projection of this intensely moving music could not be lovelier or more meaningful. Recorded sound is also memorable: first class analog stereo, of notable warmth and solidity. Vanguard was one of the most adventurous among smaller American music labels in the '50s and '60s, and it's nice to see the reissue of so many of their fine recordings on first-class CDs."