To mark Easter weekend, on Friday 2 April at 3pm, Drogheda Classical Music will present a performance of Haydn’s Quartet Op. 51 “Seven Last Words”, with texts by acclaimed poet Mark Strand, from St Peter’s Church of Ireland, Drogheda. The work will be performed by ConTempo Quartet and Aoibhéann McCann, a Best Actress Award winner in the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2020.

It will be streamed via Ticketsolve Rooms for just €10. Details from www.droghedaclassicalmusic.com

Haydn’s Quartet Op. 51 “Seven Last Words” are meditations on Christ’s last words on the cross, and are among the great pieces of Easter music. They are seven short phrases from the Latin Bible worked conceptually and rhythmically into the texture of Haydn’s exquisite music. It was commissioned in 1786 for the Good Friday service at Oratorio de la Santa Cueva (Holy Cave Oratory) in Cádiz, Spain. Originally scored for orchestra, the quartet version was arranged in 1787 and is the form in which the work is most often performed today. Pulitzer prize poet Mark Strand was commissioned by the Brentano String Quartet to write a new text inspired by the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas.

Drogheda Classical Music is a boutique series of concerts bringing world-class performers to Ireland for the delight and enjoyment of Irish audiences. Since its first concert in October 2012, it has attracted many top names including Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Angela Hewitt, Alina Ibragimova, Cédric Tiberghien, Johannes Moser, Tara Erraught and Finghin Collins. It is the only series of its kind across the entire North East and offers an intimate concert experience for the audience and performers alike.

The Series is funded by the Arts Council and Louth County Council and run in partnership with Droichead Arts Centre with sponsorship from the d Hotel and RTÉ Supporting the Arts.