Stahmer-Parole Ultimi (2S)-V/P/OR

Parole Ultime ("Last Words") is a seven-movement work for percussion and organ by German composer Klaus Hinrich Stahmer (b. 1941), composed in 1978. Each of the seven movements corresponds to one of the Seven Last Words of Christ on the cross, placing the work in a tradition that includes settings by Schütz and Haydn. Where those predecessors set the texts vocally, Stahmer's approach is entirely instrumental, using percussion and organ to trace the emotional and spiritual arc of each word through purely sonic means. Stahmer has cited Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece as a visual and conceptual reference point, positioning the work within a broader tradition of pictorial representation rather than direct musical succession.

The movements range from dense, dissonant metallic sound masses in the opening to delicate vibraphone cantilenas in the sixth movement, where Stahmer weaves in fragments of the Christmas chorale "Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her" before cutting the quotation abruptly short. The sixth movement is also the only point in the entire work where melodic material emerges clearly. The seventh and final movement moves from diffuse atonality toward a fleeting tonal resolution, left deliberately open by a minor second in the bass. The work was premiered in Bremen in 1978 and has a duration of approximately 13 minutes.

Movements

• I. Moderato molto e rubato
• II. Non misurato
• III. Lento legato, tempo inegale
• IV. Senza misura, tranquillo
• V. Lento
• VI. Adagio e rubato
• VII. Adagio

Instrumentation

• Percussion (including vibraphone, crotales, military drum, woodblock drums)
• Organ