In 1786 Haydn was commissioned by the cathedral canon in Cádiz to write meditative music, which was to be performed alternately with readings of Christ’s last words on Good Friday. Already in the spring of 1787 the orchestral version and an arrangement for string quartet (HN 851 and 9771) were published by Artaria in Vienna.

Barely ten years later he also made an oratorio version, which Henle has published as a study score (HN 9830). Although Haydn did not undertake the version for “Clavicemb...