The Seven Last Words of Christ (Haydn) were not the original Latin but pietist poetry, written in German. Haydn was impressed with the new work and decided to improve on it, preparing his own choral version. He had the assistance of Baron Gottfried van Swieten, who revised the lyrics used by Friebert. This was the first work in a serial collaboration with van Swieten as librettist that continued with the later oratorios "The Creation" and "The Seasons". The choral version was privately premiered in Vienna on 26 March 1796 before an audience of the nobility, under the sponsorship of the Gesellschaft der Associierten. The public premiere was
The Seasons (Tchaikovsky) famous in the interpretation of Sergei Rachmaninoff, which has been adopted by Russian pianists as the "standard" model interpretation. Less known are October and December. The elegiac "Song of the Autumn" and the elegant characteristic salon waltz "Christmas" could be music right out of Tchaikovsky's operas or ballets respectively. Once upon a time "The Seasons" enjoyed enormous popularity. Only recently have they been rediscovered by pianists. In recent years, Yakov Kasman has made a notable recording of the suite. The Seasons (Tchaikovsky) The Seasons, Op. 37a (also seen as Op. 37b; ; published with the French title Les Saisons), is