Madonna -

The Seven Last Words
Maureen Mahon

Georges Lentz’s ‘Seven Last Words’, written for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, is a remarkable work. The work is the result of collaboration with other artists, in this case Australian writers Peter Goldsworthy, Thomas Keneally, Michael Leunig, David Malouf, Dorothy Porter and David Williamson.

Taking the seven last words of Christ as a starting point, Lentz describes his work as ‘a meditation on those great words as well as on the struggles a 21st century person must necessarily bring to them’. The poems, narrated by actor Jack Thompson, speak with a uniquely Australian perspective of yearning, death, stages of life, suffering and incompleteness, until the final work by Michael Leunig completes the picture with a positive expression of love—‘love for me and love for you’.

The work was preceded by the slow movement of Bach’s Violin Concerto in E major, played by the orchestra’s leader, Richard Tognetti. The ethereal tones of the Bach set the scene for the reading of the biblical texts, which followed without a break. The first movement of the Lentz, following the Bach, continued the character and the rhythmic elements of the violin adagio, providing a seamless connection between the works.

Musically, the seven movements display many contrasts — homophony/polyphony, sound/silence, tonality/atonality — but all with an overarching gentleness, even in the discords. The music, played after each reading, is a meditation on that text, rather than an illustration of the biblical text of the Seven Last Words.

David Williamson’s piece referred to Jesus Christ’s vision of a better world, and the music reflected this, seeming to convey a glowing wash of bright orchestral colour, reinforced by a higher level of stage lighting.

Tom Keneally’s ‘I Thirst’, a relentless plea for basic human needs, was followed by a movement which displayed a similarly relentless persistence, through the strongly rhythmic unison passages which expanded to a richer sonority with the lower strings.

The fluttering effects of the violin bows tapping the strings, the use of small bells, recorded electronic sounds and sections of ‘chance music’ provided contrast in the movement which followed David Malouf’s take on Hadrian’s last words to his departing soul.

The final movement was played during the reading of Michael Leunig’s piece, ‘It is finished’. This movement included sections in unison and harmony, with a long-held ‘pedal note’ grounding the piece. The overall expression was of peaceful resignation. As the last notes were being played, the hall was plunged into darkness, the final sounds dying away to nothing, as if transporting the audience into eternity. This was a moving finale to a wonderful piece, beautifully played by Richard Tognetti and the ACO.