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 Creation of the Violin violin remains in the forest until it is found and taken by a travelling gypsy. In both tales, the violinist makes his audience laugh and cry. Creation tales are typical of mythology, and this is one of the few fairy tales which describe the creation of a musical instrument. Others are the Hungarian fairy tale, "The Violin", and the story of the Mongolian "morin khuur". Both differ significantly from the Transylvanian tale. In Greek mythology, the creation of the pan flute by Pan and Syrinx is a well-known example. interpreted the fairy tale in a hermeneutical analysis of modern audiences.