In a small chapel in Abbotsford, the Melbourne-based Affinity Quartet partnered with students from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) to create a moving performance of Haydn’s Seven Last Words for string quartet.
Christ’s seven last words, as narrated in the Gospels, reveal Christ’s state of mind as he prepares for his death on the cross. He seeks forgiveness for those who have harmed him; contemplates his salvation and his relationship with his mother; expresses feelings of abandonment and distress; and finally, having accepted his fate, commits his spirit into his Father’s hands.
Haydn’s setting was originally performed during a Good Friday service in a deliberately darkened oratory in Cadiz. It was meant to accompany ten minutes of quiet reflection on each of the seven “Words” recounted in the Gospels, but Haydn exceeded his brief, adding a majestic introduction before the first Word and a musical rendition of the earthquake (the traditional strepitus) at the end. The work was a success both commercially and musically, and Haydn subsequently arranged the original orchestral version for string quartet.
For this ANAM-hosted performance at Abbotsford’s Good Shepherd Chapel, the high-achieving Affinity Quartet – Holly Piccoli (guest leader), Nicholas Waters (violin), Joseph Hanna (viola) and Mee Na Lojewski (cello) – collaborated with three quartets involving ANAM students to present the nine sonatas comprising Haydn’s Seven Last Words.
If you listened to this performance without knowing the Words, you would be enchanted by the rich warm harmonies washing over you; captivated by the alternating moments of tenderness and high drama; and lost in admiration for the talented musicians who have realised Haydn’s score with such accuracy, flair and feeling.
Each sonata opens with a musical setting of the relevant text. Knowing the text adds depth to the listening experience, as you appreciate the scene being depicted in that sonata, and you become aware of the musical imagery Haydn has used to convey it.
The performance opened with the Affinity Quartet and ANAM 1 combining to play the majestic introduction, with Affinity’s guest leader, Holly Piccoli, leading the ensemble with graceful gestures and a warm, inclusive stage presence.
ANAM 1 – Phoebe Fan and Noah Cyne (violins 1 and 2), Patrick Shannon (viola) and Caleb Christian (cello) – then gave a “solo” performance of the first sonata, set to the text: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. This ensemble modelled the compassion written into Haydn’s score; Fan played the theme with great delicacy, while Cyne, Shannon and Christian demonstrated care and empathy as they wove their counterpoint melodies together to produce a warm, blended sound.
The second sonata was a meditation on salvation, setting the words “Truly I say to you: today you will be with me in paradise”. This was Affinity’s first “solo” movement. Guest leader Holly Piccoli gave a compelling interpretation of the opening theme; but no less impactful was second violin Nicholas Waters’ superb treatment of the Alberti bass accompaniment.
The third sonata, based on the text “Woman behold your son. Son, behold, your mother”, was performed by ANAM 2: Jonah Spriggs and Rastlin Chan (violins 1 and 2), Felix Hughes Chivers (viola), and James Monro (cello) with Alyssa Deacon (double bass).
This was one of the most touching moments in the concert. It opened with slowly repeated notes played with great tenderness by the lower strings; and on this soft sonic pillow, the two violins uttered two simple but expressive musical sighs. So began a very tenderly written – and exquisitely played – contemplation on maternal and filial love.
Affinity combined with ANAM 2 in the fourth sonata as chorale passages were juxtaposed with a cadenza-like violin solo, short melodic fragments and a doleful descending melody to evoke a sense of abandonment: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
In the fifth sonata, Affinity partnered with ANAM 3 for “I thirst”: a contemplation of distress evoked by strong, arresting chords and prickly plucked notes.
The sixth sonata, “It is finished”, marks Christ’s demise. It opens with a dramatic minor arpeggio, a figure that returns repeatedly, interrupting the violin’s exquisitely tender melodies and triggering an intense development section, driven by the cello, before the harmonies resolve and dissolve. Affinity Quartet gave a superb performance, rendering each distinctive moment with great commitment and control.
For the seventh sonata, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”, ANAM 3 – Theonie Wang (violin 1), Helena Burns (viola), Heesoo Kim (cello) – was joined by Affinity violinist Nicholas Waters. Haydn portrays this moment of bliss in a duet where the two violins play interwoven melodies in close harmony.
Waters folded the second violin’s melody into the first violin part so completely that it seemed as if the two instruments were being played as one. In this movement the repeated notes were played delicately, underscoring the happiness.
Traditionally, this service would conclude with a loud noise (strepitus) to mark Christ’s demise. Haydn uses a variety of musical effects – loud chords, sharply framed ornaments and a rousing, rather boisterous three-beat rhythm – to create his version of the earthquake, and Affinity and the ANAM quartets and double bass combined to finish the performance with gusto.
The performers’ warm and empathetic style of playing was a highlight of this performance. The music provokes the audience to contemplate what it means to be human, and all the performers in this event demonstrated their deep engagement with the emotions expressed in the Seven Last Words and the music their colleagues were sharing with them.
Photo supplied.
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Sue Kaufmann reviewed “Sacred: Seven Last Words”, presented by Affinity Quartet and the Australian National Academy of Music at the Good Shepherd Chapel, Abbotsford, on April 2, 2026.
