The Seven Last Words

The Seven Last Words is an oratorio by Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, composed and first performed in 1786. Musically it presents a sequence of seven slow, meditative movements characterised by concentrated string and orchestral writing, solemn tempi and dramatic silences, and it occupies a distinctive place in Haydn's late-1780s output as an exploration of concentrated sacred expression that was later adapted for different ensembles.