As the composer explained this work: Some fifteen years ago I was requested by a Canon of Cadiz to compose instrumental music on the seven last words of Our Savior on the Cross. It was customary at the Cathedral of Cadiz to produce an oratorio every year during Lent, the effect of performance being not a little enhanced by the following circumstances. The walls, windows, and pillars of the church were hung with black cloth, and only one large lamp...