The conversation by Emilio Sala on Haydn, sette parole di consolazione introduces the concert on 22 March at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi with l'Orchestre des Champs-Élysées and the Collegium Vocale Gent, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe. The concert will present The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross in Oratorio form for soloists, choir and orchestra.

The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross is an ancient ritual tied to the Easter liturgy, common in many Christian countries in varying forms. One of the most fascinating rituals used to take place in Cadice, at midday on Good Friday, when the Cathedral would be closed and completely blacked out, and the Bishop would take to the pulpit to comment on each of the seven words spoken by Christ before dying. In 1786 the Cathedral of Cadice commissioned Haydn to write music to accompany the service, seven Adagio for orchestra to be played at the end of each meditation. Haydn considered this work as one of his best, so much so that he later prepared various versions, the last of which was a re-elaboration in Oratorio form, with the addition of a text by a canon of Passau.

Emilio Sala is professor of Musical Dramaturgy at the Università Statale di Milano. He specialises in the relationships between music and various forms of entertainment (from opera to cinema, melologue, and incidental music. He is involved in a number of important committees, research projects and musical foundations, he has published books, essays, articles and reviews in Italian (Amadeus, among others) and foreign magazines, he edits various works, and is a lively and communicative lecturer, much appreciated by audiences.