Winning new Haydn style arrangement of Haydn’s Seven Last Words by José Peris Lacasa

ByMICHAELWHITE But Benedictdoes like to have his own musicalestablishment in the Vaticanal- The Henschel temporary RomanCatholic liturgy. around him. He has a German, Ingrid ternatelygrew Quartet VATICAN CITY and shrankduring the l5th "If you stand close to him." Mr. von Stampa,running his household.And be- stands for applause T had beena tougir week for PopeBen- and l6th centuries,sometimes waning to Kempissaid, "you seeon his facewhen fore Ms. Stamparan the papalhousehold, from Pope Benedict he edict XVI. Accusations about child the point where it was far smaller than doesn'tlike something.Four shewas a professorof music:a strange XVI, his Slearsago, on abusewithin the churchcontinued to ca- those privately maintained by individual brother and his first trip to Latin pope, reer shift but one that signals America as multiply. The focus of attack turned another cardinals.And its status rose or fell ac- the rest of the therewas a popular people thing Benedictlikes having chantthat kept personal,with claimsof cover-upsand qui- aroundhim in cordingly. audience in the Sala singing wherever theVatican. he went, and it made et interventionsin the Munich archdiocese One barometer beyond the sphere of him very uncomfortable, Benedictis deeplymusical Clementina, in the as though he decadesago, when the pope- thenknown and always purely liturgicalmusic was the fate of the wantedto run away." has been.He expresseshis conservative papal apartments. as JosephRatzinger - was its archbishop. Tor di Nona Theater,which ClementIX PopeBenedict is plain- tastes- Bach,Haydn, Mozart in sur- comfortablewith And if that weren't enough, there were - and QueenChristina of Swedenjointly es- chant and the unaccompanied prisinglyheartfelt terms. Mr. von Kempis vocal tradi- news reports of unholy happeningsin the tablishedas Rome'sfirst public stagefor tionsof the Renaissance recallsa time whenJohn Paul II was pope, and Baroquethat RegensburgerDomspatzen, the celebrated opera.But it ran only from 16?lto 1674, emerged from it. Rut even and Cardinal Ratzinger organized a Vat- withrn those Germanboys' choir that the pope'sbroth- whenClement X closedit down.Alexander limits he demandsa chasterestraint ican performanceof Beethoven'sNinth that er, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger,directed for 30 VIII reopenedit in 1690.Innocent XII or- the delegatesto the l6th-century years, Symphonyto commemoratesome special Council though MonsignorRatzinger was dered it to be destroyedin 1692.Clement of Tient would haveapproved. not implicated occasion.The cardinal was prefect of the XII rebuilt it in 1732.And the game went His book "The Spirit of the Liturgy," But luck Congregationfor the Doctrineof the Faith, on, as would have it. there was a publishedin 2000,warns of a ,,threatof in- briefrespite andhis reputationwas very muchthat of a builtinto the Ratzinger broth- There were alsopopes who went to ex- vasion by the virtuoso mentality, the van- ers' schedule hard-liner:the clenchedfist behinda char- on March lg, when the Hen- treme lengthsto stop,sabotage or other- ity of technique,which is no longerthe ser- schel ismatic pontiff. Not many people knew Quartetfrom Munich - one of the wise confinethe Romancarnival season, vant of the whole but wants to pushitself outstanding abouthis lovefor music,so when he got up German string ensemblesof which was when most public music mak- to the fore." And he once told a priestly the moment- performed and madean insightful as well as emotion- in the pope'spri ing of a secularnature took place. Clement gatheringat CastelGandolfo that ,,thelit- vate apartmentsto celebratehis nameday, XI declareda Holy Yearin 1702for the spe- urgy is not a theatricaltext, the altar is not the feastof St. Joseph.As the maelstrom cific purpose of dampeningfestive spirits a stage."In other gathered The pope finds refuge in a words,keep it simple: force around him. he and his andany inclinationto noise. quality without fl amboyance. brother did what they have often done storm in a fauorite By the l9th century the papal record for As thingsstand in St.Peter's, quality re- through the years. Sitting side by side, music making was poor; and with few ex- mains elusive.By generalconsent the they took refugein composer Sis- sharedmusic. and a gua.rtet ceptionsthat remainedthe casethrough tine ChapelChoir (which performs pa- What the pope at chose to hear for his much of the 20th.The liturgical tradition in pal events) singswith an unbalanced,rau- name day was a from bq.chhome. touchstoneHaydn work St.Peter's Basilica fossilized. Standards of couslack of finesse,not helpedby the ter- appropriateto the Lenten ,,The season. performancewere dismal. Occasional pon- rible acousticsin both basilicaand chapel. SevenLast Words ally committed speech introducing the From the Cross."And tiffslike Paul VI tookan interestin thevis- And the organtradition is undistinguished. he choseto symphony,people were takenaback. hear it in circumstancesthat, ualarts but not somuch in music.And with But accordingto Mr. van on Vatican "Most certainly he loves to talk music Kempis,Bene- terms, count as intimate: a John Paul II, things hit a conspicuously dict'spontificate has far lGth-century and to play it, which he doesa lot,', Mr. von so seenan explo- audiencechamber called the low note. sion of in-houseVatican Sala Clementina, Kempissaid. "One of the cardinalshere, concertsby emi- which, like most of his "John Paul was a great man," Mr. von nent guests.The Henschel Cardinal Kaspar, used concertwas a apartments;celebrates the papal paradox to be his Vatican- Kempissaid, "but if he evergets beatified, casein point. ol sumptuous austerity. eilpioaönea room neighbor,and Kaspar says proudly Uy it won't be for his artistictaste. His ideaof Haydn's"Seven Last Words"is marble stairways that recedeinto that everyday, he heardthe pianocoming a string the dis- music was to have the Red Army dancing quartet originally written for church per- tance like Renaissanceexercises per- through the wall and never complained. in team in the Vatican audiencehalls. And if formance as an Easter meditation, spective,it's a room for This is Christianspirit. And onehas with ceremonv.nof for to ad- you look at his legacy in cultural matters, each movementresponding comfort. But mit of the Holy Father to one of the it might have beenäesigned that he doesn,tplay it's all quitekitsch. exclamationsJesus lor concerts. sowell. made while being cru- "When Benedicttook over,it was with cified.In this caseit was actuallv a modern Presumably, the Henschel "His brother alwayssays, ,not euartet he's too some reputation for artistic awareness. adaptationinvolving the addition (which will perform bad but still an amateur.'perhaps of a mez- at the Frick Collection you,ve helpedby the associationwith his brother, zo-soprano- the German on April ll seenthe SusanneKelling and at the Library of Congress YouTubeclip?" who was famousin Germanyfor his work - singingJesus'words in Washington There as an overlav to on April 14) was chosen is indeeda YouTubeclip of Bene- with the Domspatzenchoir. And he madeit thestring textures. more for its musicianshipthan for its prov- dict playing the piano, shakily and with known that he wanted to invigorate the And though it stretchedsome of the enance.Since his election Benedicthas mistakesso bad that he has to stop and Vatican'smusical life, which he's doing.', shorter exclamationsto the thresholdof taken care not show national bias in the start again.It's quiteendearing, especially Somethings have been swept aside, in- endurance("I thirst, I thirst, I thirst.,'Ms. RomanCuria. German origin has become giventhe millenniumsof papal historythat cludingthe large-scalepop-rock concerts Kellingsang relentlessly), it was effective. almost a disadvantagewhen it comes lie behindit. to that periodically ran in the Vatican at What's more, it was wonderfully per- access and preferment, said Stefan von Scanning the centuries,you couldeasily Christmas(to raise money for charities) formed, with a1lthe physical,full-blooded Kempis,a well-connectedinsider from the believe that the Vatican had Dut more ef- and as adjunctsto World youth Days (to vigor for which the Henschelplayers are German language department of Vatican fort into suppressingmusic than support- encouragethe world's youth to turn up). known and an exactingly securerelation- Radio. ing it. At great times it was a patron: hence Benedicthas strongviews aboutpop and ship between the instruments and the "It would be easier in many ways if pale- the Gregorianchant, hencethe music of rock that tend not to be complimentary. voice. It's never easy fitting an outsider popewas African," Mr. von Kempisadded, strina. But for every musicalpope, there And one of his first initiatives in office was into the tight bond of a string quartet, es- "so scrupulouslydoes he avoid any idea of were more who saw the performingarts as to start exorcising the gently strummed pecially a quartet like this, in which three favoritism." dangerousdiversions from true belief. guitar The from its placeof prominencein con- Continuedonpage 22 22 THE NEW YORKTIMES, SUNDAY MARCH 28,2O7O SoothingSounds for thePontiff's Ear privacy,a monumentalgrandeur. Swiss Guards padding back and Comethe evening, the assorted parallel.But he acceptsthat mu- FromPage19 Frescoed,marbled 16th-century forth,a cohortof major-domosin A concert is eoidence cardinals and bishopsmultiplied sic validatesdivine belief: as he members(the two violinists and interiors lead from one into an- full court dress doing whatever of how musical tastes to almost comic numbers: they oncetold a Lutheran bishopafter the violist) are siblings who had other,handsomely furnished with major-domosdo, and the swishof were nearly half the audience a performanceof a Bach cantata, hugeproblems in their early days spiritual artifacts and a liberal cassocks as assorted cardinals in the Vatican hque and robbed of their significance 'Anyone who has heard this finding a cellist they could get supplyof prie-dieus,should any- and bishops looked in on what by being quite so many,like the knows that the faith is true." Pre- alongwith. This time, however,it one feel the sudden desire to washappening. shiftedyet again. chorusfrom a Verdi opera.But at sumably,the HenschelQuartet's madefor a winning combination kneeland pray. Among them was the small, the front, on what turned out to Haydn offeredcomfort at the end and a memorableevent. The SalaClementina had a gar- stoopedform of MonsignorRatz- where everyone would sit, or be a modestchoice of throne,was of the most challengingweek of But that was not completely ish floral carpet (possibly a relic inger, who sat in the front row stand; which of his many,varied Benedict,his brother Georg be- his pontificateso far. unconnectedwith the circum- of John Paul II) but was other- and followed the rehearsal in- thrones the pope would sit on; side him: snow-hairedmen lis- stances.Like so much that counts wise imposing.And as the Hen- tently until he fell asleep(which, and whether Monika Henschel, tening to Haydn with the rapt in- Noday is complete as "front of house"at the Vatican, schel Quartet rehearsed on the at 90, is forgivable). And as he the quartet's violist, would or tensity of someonelistening to the "backstage"ofthe pope'spri- morning of the concert,it was to slept,with an attendantnun alert would not play in a mantilla. (As God. without vate apartments has, for all its the surreal accompaniment of besidehim, issues were resolved: it wasn'tpractical, she didn't.) The popemight not draw that TheNew York Times. Ambassadors of the SOS Children’s Village since 2006

“The Seven last words of Our Saviour on the Cross” In a new “Haydn style” version of by Spanish Royal Court composer José Peris for string quartet and mezzo soprano To be performed at the Vatican in presence of Pope Benedict XVI on March 19th

Munich, February 2010: When the Henschel Quartet received the honourable invitation by the Vatican to perform for Pope Benedikt XVI on his name day the Quartet decided that this should be the opportunity to introduce the new compelling Peris arrangement of Haydn`s Seven Last Words. The Vatican invited the German mezzosoprano Susanne Kelling to take the voice part at this occasion.

José Peris Lacasa, composer and musical assessor to the Spanish national patrimony and organist at the Spanish Capilla del Palacio de Madrid, completed his studies in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and Darius Milhaud and in Carl Orff’s “Meisterklasse für Dramatische Komposition” in Munich.

Professor Peris Lacasa has created a new version of Haydn’s “Seven Last Words” in which for the first time the leading part is taken up by a solo voice, a mezzo soprano. Haydn’s original work for string quartet was a commission by a capitular in Cádiz at the end of the 18th century to celebrate Good Friday in the church of Santa Cueva and became one of Haydn’s most famous compositions.

In the original work from 1786, each of the seven sonatas (representing seven meditations) were introduced by a spoken explanatory Latin text accompanied by a short sermon. In Peris Lacasa’s version, the voice assumes the part of the first violin in each of the seven sonatas, the literary phrase always corresponding with the musical phrasing. The original, the quartet composition had spoken comments by a priest with each corresponding sonata. In today’s version, only the music is interpreted, and in general without intervention of a priest.

For further information, please contact: Dr. Silke Zimmermann, Media Consulting, Gerner Straße 48, D - 80638 München-Nymphenburg, Tel.: +49-89-32164429, mobile: +49-170-2711677, [email protected] Ambassadors of the SOS Children’s Village since 2006

Composer José Peris Lacasa about the performance: “This performance in the Vatican dedicated to a fundamental work in Christian spirituality is a great honour for me. This work is the result of my dedication to sacred music since the days of my youth. Different works reflect this dedication: the Concierto Espiritual on a poem of Cristo de Velásquez de Unamuno, the Te Deum for the commemoration of the Royal Monastery of the Spanish Court, among others. I think that my sacred music is part and parcel of a tradition of Spanish polyphonists that goes back to the composers of the XVIth century”.

The world premiere of Peris Lacasa’s version in Madrid was performed by the Henschel Quartet on the Spanish court’s unique Stradivarius collection to an enthusiastic reception at the Royal Court during the Holy Week in 2008, soloist was the Spanish mezzo soprano Ana María Sánchez.

On 19 March 2010, the quintet version will be performed in presence of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, on Cardinal Ratzinger’s name day, at the Vatican’s Sala Clementina. The solo part for lyrical mezzo soprano will be sung by Susanne Kelling. After her studies at Cologne Music High School and at the Academia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, she was engaged to Munich National Opera by Zubin Mehta where she continues to perform. Susanne was recently named “Cavaliere dell`Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana” (O.S.S.I.), the highest decoration recognized to expatriates for outstanding contribution to the Italian people. Highly acclaimed debut concerts in many of Europe's prestigious concert halls helped to firmly establish the Henschel Quartet as one of today's leading string quartets. Constant critical acclaim has led to an impressive international career which in 2010 will take them back to the Spanish court for a performance of Mozart & Schubert on the court’s precious Stradivarius string collection and on a tour of China, Japan and the USA.

www.henschel-quartett.de www.susanne-kelling.de

For further information, please contact: Dr. Silke Zimmermann, Media Consulting, Gerner Straße 48, D - 80638 München-Nymphenburg, Tel.: +49-89-32164429, mobile: +49-170-2711677, [email protected]