Echoes from Calvary: Mediations on Franz Joseph Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Christ - Softcover

Offers a musical and spiritual odyssey into the words of Christ on the cross. -- Phil Anderson * Topeka Capital-Journal, (Ks) * Almost every page offers some fresh insight. -- Peter Steinfels * The New York Times * Every day we must yield our spirit to grace. We can do so stubbornly, reluctantly, with protests and complaints. We can curse the dimming of the light. Or we can go gracefully into the night as Jesus did, firm in the knowledge that is safe to say, 'It is finished.' -- Andrew M. Greeley And so, I'm going away this morning-I don't know about you-but I'm going away determined that wherever he leads me, I will follow. I will follow him to the Garden. I will follow him to the Cross if he wants me to go there...Not my will, but thy will be done! And when you can cry that, you can stand up amid life with an exuberant joy. You know that God walks with you. -- Martin Luther King Jr. 'I thirst'-words from the Cross; words heard in the midst of drought stricken lands, in the poverty of inner cities, in the midst of wars. I thirst-words of spiritual emptiness heard in urban centers, in green groves and on barren plains. Perhaps our greatest challenge is to find the deep wells of physical and spiritual nourishment that will slake the thirst of a wounded and weary world. -- Grover A. Zinn Young men should not die. Parents should not experience the death of their children.... And so a small, poignant, tragic and personal moment happens in the midst of events that will loom large in human history-the crucifixion of God's son, the death, for the salvation of humankind, of Jesus the Christ. And in the midst of its terrible beauty a touchingly personal event: a son watching his mother watch him die. -- John M. Buchanan ... we hear Haydn with new ears, and he helps us to hear Jesus with new ears... This book is an excellent aid to structuring intention and a richly rewarding way to spend slow time. * Christianity Today * Young, the violinist for the world-famous Vermeer quartet at Northern Illinois Univerisity, brings together some outstanding reflection and commentary on the seven words, from luminaries such as Martin Marty, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Peter Gomes, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Andrew Greeley...This marvelous pairing of music and great preaching will inspire Christians of many different traditions. * Publishers Weekly * This splendid offering is a labor of love from many hands... highly recommended... -- Graham Christian * Library Journal * ...a perfect combination of words and music designed for Lent...For those who've loved Haydn's work over the years, this will bring a deeper level of appreciation. For those who are not as familiar with this work, the book and CDs are a wonderful introduction to what is sure to become a much-loved Lent tradition. -- Nancy Jeffery * Arkansas Democrat-Gazette * Richard Young's spiritual journey is very well done and interesting, as a kind of personal statement that has worthwhile reflection . . . This is a respectful book, as one might expect and I think it is full of hope. These are meditations of the heart for Good Friday and Holy Week. Through the music and the text of the meditations, one follows the Christ and knows something of his spirit. * The Examiner, November 19, 2009 *

This is a book that is certain to stir the soul with echoes, in both music and words, of the passion of Christ. That event transcends time or season; its power to uplift and inspire is endless. In 1786 Franz Joseph Haydn wrote what he considered to be his greatest composition, The Seven Last Words of Christ. Today it continues to provide musical and spiritual nourishment for millions through a format that links its seven main movements to spoken meditations on the seven final utterances of Jesus. The Vermeer String Quartet, in dozens of performances of this masterpiece throughout the world, has been joined by some of the foremost religious figures of our time for meditations on the seven last words. This book offers printed versions of more than 60 of them, along with seven spoken meditations as part of the complete musical performance on one of the accompanying disks. Meditations include contributions by Martin Luther King, Jr., Martin Marty, Virgil Elizondo, Raymond Brown, Peter Gomes, Andrew Greeley, Jean Bethke Elshtain and many more. There are also in-depth essays by theologian Martin Marty, historian Grover A. Zinn, ethicist Jean Bethke Elshtain and the Vermeer's Richard Young. On a second disk, Young demonstrates how Haydn's composition embodies the emotion of the seven last words. Echoes from Calvary offers many hours of spiritual reflection and devotion. It is a treasury of insights for any life, in any season.