Las+Siete+Palabras

A punto de terminar el siglo XVIII, un aristócrata de la ciudad de Cádiz, el marqués de Méritos, escribió a Haydn encargándole la composición de una obra que debía interpretarse durante la Cuaresma en una pequeña iglesia de aquella ciudad, decorada por Goya y conocida con el nombre de la Santa Cueva. La historia de la Santa Cueva está vinculada a la cofradía de la Madre Antigua, que tuvo su origen en las reuniones que todos los jueves, al anochecer, en un lugar conocido como Campo del Sur, mantenía un grupo de varones para meditar en la Pasión del Señor. Ante las habladurías que, por lo apartado del lugar y la nocturnidad de la hora, despertaba esta práctica, las reuniones se trasladaron, por indicación del obispo, a la iglesia del Rosario, en el centro de la ciudad, donde, en 1756, con motivo de unas obras de reforma, se descubrió casualmente un subterráneo. Este fue acondicionado pronto para uso de la congregación, que desde entonces sería llamada de la Santa Cueva. La congregación de la Santa Cueva experimentó un gran auge cuando, años más tarde, asumió su dirección el sacerdote don José Sáenz de Santamaría, marqués de Valde-Iñigo, que, tras heredar, a la muerte de su padre, una cuantiosa fortuna, empleó ésta en el embellecimiento de la iglesia. Encargó los planos al arquitecto y académico Torcuato Cayón, maestro de obras de la catedral nueva de Cádiz, y para la decoración mural contó, entre otros pintores, con Francisco de Goya. La idea de procurarse una obra del más famoso compositor de la época para enriquecer los cultos de la Santa Cueva le fue sugerida por sus amigos, el marqués de Ureña y el marqués de Méritos, ambos músicos y bien relacionados, especialmente este último, con los círculos de la nobleza madrileña, en donde se profesaba verdadera veneración a Haydn. Sabemos, por ejemplo, que la duquesa de Benavente había firmado un contrato con Haydn, por el que éste se comprometía a enviarle doce obras al año, de las cuales ocho serían sinfonías, y que en el palacio de los duques de Alba se recibieron algunos cuartetos remitidos directamente por Haydn; en el célebre retrato pintado por Goya, el propio duque aparece sosteniendo una de estas partituras enviadas por el compositor austríaco. Parece que Haydn recibió del marqués una información muy detallada de cómo sería el desarrollo del acto al que se destinaba su obra y que esta descripción le impresionó profundamente, pues en el prólogo de la edición impresa en 1801, el compositor escribió: “A mediodía se cierran todas las puertas y da comienzo la música. Tras esta introducción, el sacerdote sube al púlpito y pronuncia una de las siete palabras que comentará a continuación. Cuando ha terminado, desciende y se arrodilla ante el altar. Esta pausa está ocupada por la música.” Haydn, ocupado en esta época en la composición de sus seis sinfonías “parisienses”, manifestó en términos modestos que no era tarea fácil “componer siete adagios seguidos, de no más de diez minutos de duración cada uno, sin cansar a los oyentes.” Esto podría explicar igualmente por qué Haydn tardó más tiempo en cumplir este encargo del empleado en otros trabajos. Con la dramática introducción en “re menor” y el movimiento final rápido en “do menor”, titulado “**//Il terremoto//**”, la obra comprende nueve partes, que prueban la inagotable imaginación de Haydn y su profunda y sencilla piedad. Las “Siete Palabras” fueron compuestas inicialmente para orquesta. Esta partitura fue seguida en breve por una versión para cuarteto de cuerdas, que es la más habitualmente interpretada hoy. Finalmente, Haydn escribió una tercera versión, en forma de oratorio, motivada, al parecer, por la insatisfactoria impresión que le produjo un arreglo con partes vocales añadidas realizado por el maestro de capilla de la catedral de Passau. Maximilian Stadler, amigo personal de Haydn, se encontraba junto a él en Eisendstadt cuando éste recibió el escrito de España y da cuenta de la perplejidad del maestro ante tan inusual y extraño proyecto. Lamentablemente nada de la correspondencia generada en torno a él se conserva; según parece, se perdió durante la ocupación de las tropas francesas. El marqués de Méritos se llevó estos documentos a Madrid, donde residió hasta su muerte, ocurrida en 1811. Su sobrino, Nicolás de Cambiasso, escribiendo sobre los últimos años de su tío en Madrid, en la clandestinidad, nos dice que el marqués fue convocado, junto con otros nobles, para prestar juramento de fidelidad al rey José I. “El marqués – relata Cambiasso – tuvo que ir, por ser llamado a este acto tan comprometido y, tomando la pluma con mano temblorosa escribió: **//No//** y estampó su firma” Esto le acarreó un decreto de destierro, y desde entonces tuvo que permanecer escondido para sustraerse a las pesquisas de la policía. Según la tradición gaditana, **//Las Siete Palabras//** se han venido interpretando ininterrumpidamente en la Santa Cueva desde el siglo XVIII hasta la actualidad. Allí tuvo ocasión de escucharlas por primera vez Manuel de Falla siendo un niño de seis años, que recordaría toda su vida la profunda impresión recibida. A la edad de once años tocaba Falla una reducción de **//Las Siete Palabras//** en el órgano de la iglesia de San Francisco Hoy en día la obra se sigue interpretando en la versión para cuarteto de cuerdas con un ritual idéntico al descrito en la carta con que se efectuó el encargo. En el espacio en penumbra de la cripta, ante el recogimiento de los fieles, surge una música incomparable que trata de acercarnos al mayor misterio del cristianismo. media type="custom" key="11269516"media type="custom" key="11269528"
 * //__ Las Siete Ultimas Palabras del Salvador en la Cruz __//****__ . Una obra maestra de Haydn para la ciudad de Cádiz __**

__//**ENGLISH VERSION**//__


 * //__The Seven Last Words of our Savior__//** **//__on the Cross__//****__. A Haydn’s master piece for the city of Cadiz.__**

At the end of the XVIII century, a nobleman from the City of Cadiz, the marquis of Méritos, wrote to Haydn asking him the composition of a work which should be performed during the Lent in a little church of the town, a church decorated by Goya and known with the name of The Holy Cave. The history of the Holy Cave is linked to the brotherhood of the Old Mather, originated in the meetings that every Thursday, at nightfall, held a group of men, in a place known as South Land, in order to meditate on the Passion of the Lord. Since these meetings gave rise to gossips because their late hours and isolation, they were taken, at the bishop’s notice, to the church of the Rosary, in the town centre, where, in 1756, on the occasion of some works of restoration, an underground happened to be found. It was soon fit out for the use of the congregation, which would be called, since then, the Holy Cave’s brotherhood. This congregation experienced a great increase when, years later, the priest José Sáenz de Santamaría, marquis of Valde-Iñigo, took it over. He had inherited a considerable fortune, at his father’s death, and used it in the embellishment of the church. He commissioned the plans to the architect and academic Torcuato Cayón, master of the works in the new cathedral of Cadiz. As for the painting of the walls, he relied on Francisco de Goya, among other painters. The idea of getting a work from the most famous composer of the age in order to enrich the Holy Cave’s cults was suggested to him by his friends, the marquis of Ureña and the marquis of Méritos, both amateur musicians and both very well connected, especially the latter, with the circles of the aristocracy of Madrid, where a true veneration was professed to Haydn. We know, for instance, that the duchess of Benavente had signed a contract with Haydn, according to which, he committed himself to send her twelve works a year, among which eight ones would be symphonies, and that in the dukes of Albas’ palace several quartets were received, sent directly by Haydn; in the famous portrait painted by Goya, the duke himself appears holding one of this musical scores sent by the Austrian composer. Apparently, Haydn got from the marquis accurate information about how the proceedings of the ceremony were going to be and was deeply struck by this description. In the 1801 edition, the composer wrote: “At noon, the doors are closed and the music begins. After this introduction, the priest ascends the pulpit and pronounces one of the seven words to be commented. Once he’s finished, he comes down and falls to his knees before the altar. This interval is filled by music.” Haydn was engaged at the time with the composition of his six Parisian symphonies and expressed, in a modest way, that it was not easy “to compose seven consecutive adagios, of about ten minutes length each, without the listeners getting tired” It could explain also why Haydn was longer than usual in fulfilling this commission. With the dramatic introduction in “D minor” and the fast ending movement in “C minor”, titled “**//The earthquake//**”, the work covers nine parts that proves Haydn’s endless imagination as well as his deep and simple piety. The “Seven Words” were originally composed for orchestra. This score was next followed for a string quartet version which is nowadays the most usually performed. Eventually, Haydn wrote a third version, in the fashion of an Oratory, prompted, apparently, by the unsatisfactory impression produced in him by an arrangement with added vocal parts made by the chapel master of the cathedral of Passau. Maximilian Stadler, Haydn’s friend was with him in Eisenstadt when the latter got the letter from Spain and speaks about the master’s perplexity when confronted to such an unusual and strange project. Unfortunately nothing of the correspondence generated around it has been preserved; apparently, everything was lost during the French troops’ occupation. The marquis of Méritos took away these documents to Madrid, where he resided until his dead, happened in 1811. His nephew, Nicolás de Cambiasso, writing about the last years of his uncle in Madrid, past in underground, tells us that the marquis was summoned, together with other noblemen, to pledge allegiance to the King Joseph I. “The marquis – tells Cambiasso – had to go, having been called to such a compromising act and, taking the pen with tremulous hand he wrote: **//No//** and printed his signature”. It deserved him a banishment sentence and, from then on, he must remain hided to elude the police investigations. According to the Gaditan tradition, “**//The Seven Words//**” have been performed uninterrupted in the Holy Cave from the XVIII century to the present time. Manuel de Falla had the opportunity of listening them there for the first time when he was a child of six, who would remember all his life the deep impression provoked in him. At the age of eleven, Falla played a transcription of “**//The Seven Words//**” at the organ of the Saint Francis Church. Today this work continues being played in the string quartet version with a liturgy identical to that described in the commission’s letter. In the dark space of the vault, faced with the devotion of the congregation, an incomparable music rises which tries to approach us to the great mystery of the Christianism.

= **__Activities of Music__** =

__1. Listen to the different movements of Haydn’s work. Then, mark whether the minor keys are predominant or not and explain the reason for that.__
The minor keys are predominant because it has got a sad plot (Christ death).

__2. Search for the words in Latin which inspired each one of the different movements.__
1. Pater,dimitte illis, quia nesciunt, quid faciunt. 2. Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso. 3. Mulier, ecce filiu. Mulier, filius tuus. 4. Deus meus, Deus meus, utquid dereliquisti me? 5. Sitio. 6. Consummatum est. 7. In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum.

__3. Mark the names of some Spanish aristocratic families who required regularly the services of Haydn.__
Benavente duchess and Dukes of Alba.

__4. Which characteristic of the commitment was deemed by Haydn as the main difficulty to be overcome?__
He had to compose seven short adagios and they couldn’t bore the listeners.

__5. In the series of movements there are some which don’t correspond to any of Christ’s words. Mark them.__
Each movement of Haydn’s work is based in one of the Seven Phrases that according to the gospels pronounce Christ on the cross, excep the first and the last movements. The first one is the introduction, and the last one is the description of the Earthquake.

__6. Could you tell which part of the letter sent to Haydn by the Marquis of Valde-Iñigo proved to be very suggestive and helped him to find the suitable atmosphere to this work?__
At noon, the doors are closed and the music begins. After this introduction, the priest ascends the pulpit and pronounces one of the seven words to be commented. Once he’s finished, he comes down and falls to his knees before the altar. This interval is filled by music.

__Which is the most usually played nowadays in the Holy Cave’s church?__
He wrote three versions.The most usually played nowadays is the string quartet version.