According to his account Haydn said that "the composition was due more to what Senor Milton wrote than to his own invention, for it showed every motif so marvellously that on reading the instructions he seemed to read the music itself." If the Marquis was not boasting, we must confess that the ingenuous Haydn was not so ingenuous as has been thought, and that he knew how to flatter his patrons.
In 1801 Breitkopf and Haertel published the work with the addition of the vocal parts at Leipzig.

This edition had a preface by the author in which he said: About fifteen years ago, a cure at Cadiz engaged me to write some passages of instrumental music on the Seven Words of Christ on the Cross.

It was the custom at that time to play an oratorio at the Cathedral during Holy Week, and they took great pains to give as much solemnity as possible.

The walls, the windows and the pillars of the church were hung in black, and only a single light in the centre shone in the sanctuary.

The doors were closed at mid-day and the orchestra began to play.