The fact that the keyboard version of The Seven Last Words has come down to us in an arrangement not by Haydn himself, albeit one heartily approved by him, has not deterred a number of pianists from recording the work. The French pianist Nicolas Stavy recorded the work in January 2006 in Paris. That recording, originally released on the Mandala label, has been remastered by BIS. Stavy plays a Steinway (serial number and vintage not indicated in the booklet) owned by Pierre Malbos, using the first of two actions for the instrument for the Seven Last Words and the second for the F minor Variations.

Stavy is ever the gentle, inviting guide to this extraordinary score which, with the possible exception of Liszt’s Via Crucis, is without parallel in the solo piano literature prior to Olivier Messiaen. Throughout the nine movements (the first is an introduction, the ninth depicts the earthquake), he resists any temptation to overplay. Following the relative tranquillity of ‘Father forgive them’, ‘This day you will be with me in paradise’ achieves genuine pathos, the left-hand Alberti figurations handled with great delicacy. Haydn’s motivic allusions to the Stabat mater chant are clear but subtle. ‘Mother, behold thy son’, the longest of the sonatas, is a model of tender restraint. As the polyphonic complexity increases in ‘My God, why hast thou forsaken me’, Stavy successfully combines the elements of prayer and anxiety.

The same sensitivity to voice-leading that characterises the Seven Last Words is amply evident in the F minor Variations. These double variations, composed between Haydn’s two London trips, offer greater opportunity for variety of touch and dynamic. Stavy’s approach is deeply personal, yet always faithful to the expressive dictates of the score.

Sensitive performances and generally good recorded sound make this a release that will please both Haydn devotees as well as those whose discovery of these masterpieces is a source of envy.