Franz Joseph Haydn’s masterpiece The Seven Last Words of Christ expresses the immense sorrow of Christ’s suffering in an Introduction, seven slow movements, and a depiction of the earth quake. Haydn wrote “each movement is expressed by purely instrumental music in such a way that even the most uninitiated listener will be moved to the very depths of his soul.” This work was originally commissioned in 1783 for the Good Friday services at the Cathedral in Cádiz, Spain, providing a sonic backdrop for meditation on each of the seven last utterances of Christ. This musical treasure has endured the test of time, remaining in the performance repertory for more than 200 years.

Friday, March 24th at 7:30pm
Old St. Patrick's Church
700 W Adams St
Chicago, IL 60661

Ticket Information: $25 General Admission

Haymarket String Quartet
Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin
Wendy Benner, violin
Dave Moss, viola
Craig Trompeter, cello 

Elizabeth Blumenstock is a long-time concertmaster, soloist, and leader of the San Francisco Bay Area's Philharmonia Baroque and American Bach Soloists, concertmaster of the International Handel Festival in Göttingen, Germany, and artistic director of the Corona del Mar Baroque Music Festival. Her love of chamber music has involved her in several accomplished smaller ensembles including Musica Pacifica, Galax Quartet, Ensemble Mirable, Live Oak Baroque, and Voices of Music. In addition to Juilliard's Historical Performance program, she teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the American Bach Soloists' summer Festival and Academy, the International Baroque Institute at Longy, and the Valley of the Moon Music Festival. Ms. Blumenstock plays a 1660 Andrea Guarneri violin built in Cremona, Italy, on generous loan to her from the Philharmonia Baroque Period Instrument Trust.

Wendy Benner enjoys a richly varied artistic life as an orchestral, chamber, and solo violinist throughout Chicago and beyond. Her solo appearances include performances with the Bach Sinfonia (Maryland), Baroque Band (Chicago), Metropolis Symphony Orchestra (Chicago), and Columbia Orchestra (Maryland). For eight years Ms. Benner served as concertmaster of the Bach Sinfonia, leading the ensemble’s transition from modern to period instruments in live performances and recordings on the Dorian label. Ms. Benner performed as a member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, including a 2008 Grammy-Award winning collaboration. Highlights of her artistic life in Chicago include performing with Haymarket Opera Company, the Apollo Orchestra, and Chicago Opera Theater. She holds a doctorate in violin performance from the University of Maryland.

Dave Moss is an accomplished chamber musician who has performed with Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Jamie Laredo, Miriam Fried, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, and with members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, and Ying Quartets. As an orchestral musician he has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His interest in historical performance has led him to work recently with Tafelmusik and with tenor Mark Padmore at the Britten-Pears Festival, as well as performing with Haymarket Opera Company, Baroque Band, and Callipygian Players. Moss is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory and is currently pursuing his MBA in finance at University of Chicago. Dave makes his home in Chicago where he is on faculty of the Arts with Juilliard Program at the British International School. 

Craig Trompeter has been a musical presence in Chicago for more than twenty years, performing in concert and over the airwaves with Second City Musick, Music of the Baroque, the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, the Cal Players, the Newberry Consort, and the Oberlin Consort of Viols. As chamber musician, he has appeared at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Glimmerglass Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Valletta International Baroque Festival in Malta. He has performed as soloist at the Ravinia Festival, the annual conference of the American Bach Society, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and with Music of the Baroque. He is the Artistic Director of Haymarket Opera Company.