Musical settings of sayings of Jesus on the cross are compositions which set seven short phrases uttered by Jesus on the cross, as gathered from the four Christian Gospels narrating the Crucifixion of Jesus. Several composers have written musical settings of the traditional collection of seven sayings, sometimes called ''Seven Last Words'' and ''ultima septem verba'', for various combinations of voice and/or instruments. Eventually these settings became a separate form of Passion music. Perhaps the most outstanding work in this genre in the Lutheran tradition is the work by Heinrich Schütz.

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

composed string quartets titled ''

Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze ''The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross'' (German: ) is an orchestral work by Joseph Haydn, commissioned in 1786 for the Good Friday service at Oratorio de la Santa Cueva (Holy Cave Oratory) in Cádiz, Spain. Published in 1787 and ...

'' (The seven last words of our Redeemer on the cross).

Chronological list of settings

Early Latin

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

settings of the ''ultima septem verba'' can be found from 1500.

17th century

* Heinrich Schütz: ''

Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz ''Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz'' (The seven words of Jesus Christ on the Cross), SWV 478, is a German-language musical setting of the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross by Heinrich Schütz. It was written in Weissenfels around 1645 a ...

,'' SWV 478 (1645), German

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

Augustin Pfleger Augustin Pfleger (1635 – after 23 July 1686) was a German Bohemian composer. Life Pfleger was born at Schlackenwerth (now Ostrov) and became a court musician at Schlackenwerth. In 1662 he moved to the court of the Duke of Mecklenburg in Güstro ...

: ''Passio, sive Septem Verba Christi in cruce pendentis'' (c. 1670), Latin

18th century

Pergolesi Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist * Michael Angelo Pergolesi, 18th-century Italian decorative artist {{Surname Italian-langu ...

: ''Septem verba a Christo in cruce moriente prolata'' (attributed, 1730–1736) *

Christoph Graupner Christoph Graupner (13 January 1683 – 10 May 1760) was a German composer and harpsichordist of late Baroque music who was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel. Life Born in Hartmannsdorf ...

: ''Die sieben Worte des Heilands am Kreuz'', cantata cycle, Darmstadt (1743) * Joseph Haydn: ''

'' (The seven last words of our Redeemer on the cross, 1787) *

Francisco Javier García Fajer Francisco Javier García Fajer ''El Españoleto'' (Nalda, Logroño 2 December 1730 - Zaragoza 1809) was a Spanish composer of the Italianate galante school. He studied at the choir school at Zaragoza Cathedral. As a young man he moved to Italy, ...

: ''Septem ultima verba christi in cruce'' (1787), Latin oratorio *

Giuseppe Giordani Giuseppe Tommaso Giovanni Giordani (December 19, 1751, Naples – January 4, 1798, Fermo) was an Italian composer, mainly of opera. Giordani's parents were Domenico Giordani and Anna Maria Tosato. He studied music in Naples with Domenico Cima ...

alias "Giordaniello": ''Tre ore dell'Agonia di N.S. Gesù Cristo'' (1790), oratorio

19th century

* Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli: ''Tre ore dell'Agonia'' (1825), oratorio *

Saverio Mercadante Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond ...

: ''Le sette ultime parole di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo'' (1838), oratorio * Charles Gounod: ''

Les Sept Paroles de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ sur la Croix ''Les Sept Paroles de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ sur la Croix'' (The seven words of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross) is an 1855 oratorio by Charles Gounod.Timothy Flynn - Charles François Gounod: A Research and Information Guide -2009 Page ...

'' (1855), choral work * César Franck: ''

Les Sept Paroles du Christ sur la Croix ''Les Sept Paroles du Christ sur la Croix'' (The seven words of Christ on the Cross) is a musical setting of sayings of Jesus on the cross by César Franck, composed in 1859. The work was never performed during Franck's lifetime and was only disc ...

'' (1859), choral work * Théodore Dubois: ''Les sept paroles du Christ'' (1867), choral work *

Edmund Dumas Edmund Dumas (February 15, 1810 – October 22, 1882) was an American Primitive Baptist minister, politician, and musician today remembered for his association with the Sacred Harp movement. Dumas was the son of Benjamin F. Dumas and Martha Usse ...

, "Weeping Savior" (1869), in '' Original Sacred Harp''; uses Isaac Watts' "Alas and did my Savior bleed" for main lyrics *

Fernand de La Tombelle Antoine Louis Joseph Gueyrand Fernand Fouant de La Tombelle (3 August 1854 – 13 August 1928) was a French organist and composer. Life Born in Paris, Fernand de La Tombelle had piano lessons in his childhood with his mother Louise Gueyraud, a p ...

: ''Les sept Paroles de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ'' (1867)

20th century

* Charles Tournemire: ''Sept Chorals-Poèmes pour les sept Paroles du Christ'' for organ (1935) *

Knut Nystedt Knut Nystedt (3 September 1915 – 8 December 2014) was a Norwegian orchestral and choral composer. Early life Nystedt was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important ...

: "Jesu syv ord på korset", Op. 47, oratorio for solo and mixed choir ''The Seven Words from the Cross'' (1960). *

Alan Ridout Alan Ridout (9 December 1934 – 19 March 1996) was a British composer and teacher. Life Born in West Wickham, Kent, England, Alan Ridout studied briefly at the Guildhall School of Music before commencing four years of study at the Royal C ...

: ''The Seven Last Words'' for organ (1965) * "The Crucifixion" from ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' (1969), by

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...

and

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

Douglas Allanbrook Douglas Allanbrook (April 1, 1921 – January 29, 2003) was an American composer, concert pianist and harpsichordist. He was associated with a group of mid-twentieth century Boston composers who were students of Nadia Boulanger. His compositions ...

''The Seven Last Words'' for mezzo-soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra (1970) *

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (russian: Софи́я Асгáтовна Губaйду́лина, link=no , tt-Cyrl, София Әсгать кызы Гобәйдуллина; born 24 October 1931) is a Soviet-Russian composer and an established ...

''Sieben Worte'' for cello, bayan, and strings (1982) * James MacMillan: ''Seven Last Words from the Cross'',

for choir and strings (1993) * Ruth Zechlin: ''Die sieben letzten Worte Jesu am Kreuz'' for organ (1996)

21st century

* The 2001 System of a Down song

Chop Suey! "Chop Suey!" is the first single from Armenian-American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band System of a Down's second album ''Toxicity (album), Toxicity''. The single was released in August 2001 and earned the band its first Grammy Award, Grammy ...

references "Father into your hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46) and "Why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34 and Matthew 27:46). *

Christophe Looten Christophe Looten (born 5 April 1958) is a French composer. Born in Bergues, he was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in January 2000. Biography Looten has been composing since the age of seven, when he began to study music with the loc ...

, ''Mourning'' (2008) * Tristan Murail: ''Les Sept Paroles'' for orchestra, chorus and electronics (2010) *

Daan Manneke Daan Manneke (born 7 November 1939) is a Dutch composer and organist. Manneke was born in Kruiningen. He studied organ and composition from 1963 to 1967 at the Brabant Conservatory in Tilburg, under H. Houët and Louis Toebosch (organ) and Jan va ...

: ''The Seven Last Words'' Oratorio for chamber choir (2011) * Paul Carr: ''Seven Last Words from the Cross'' for soloist, choir and orchestra (2013) * Juan Jurado: ''Seven Words'' (2013) for mixed choir and four cellos. * Rotting Christ: ''Ze Nigmar'' (2016) *

Michael John Trotta Michael John Trotta (born 1978) is an American musical composer and conductor. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall three times since 2014. Biography During his undergraduate career at Rowan University, Trotta studied voice and conducting and earne ...

: ''Seven Last Words'' (Septem Ultima Verba) for choir and orchestra (2017) * Andrew Peterson: ''Last Words'' (Tenebrae) (2018) * Pamela Decker: ''The Seven Last Words and Triumph of Christ'' (in 2 parts) for organ (2018)
https://www.wayneleupold.com/index.php/the-seven-last-words-and-triumph-of-christ-part-2-pamela-decker.html ''The Seven Last Words and Triumph of Christ'' by Pamela Decker (part 2]) *Paulo Ferreira-Lopes: ''Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz'' for chamber ensemble and electronics (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seven Last Words Of Christ, The Classical church music Classical music lists Classical compositions Passion settings Music for the Holy Week