The Creation
An Oratorio in Three Parts
191 years after his death, and over 80 since Tovey dubbed him "The Inaccessible", Haydn remains a misunderstood and under-appreciated composer. Thanks to the renaissance in study and performance of his music since 1945, all of his major works are now frequently played and recorded, and few would seriously deny his stature as the equal of Mozart, Beethoven and Bach. Yet misunderstanding of his style persists, and nowhere more than in relation to this work, "The Creation". The modern concert-goer relishes the epic psychological turmoil of a Mahler or the intricate polyphony of the renaissance. By comparison, Haydn’s robust melodic style, naïve pictorialism and seemingly irrepressible good spirits are hard to square with what we expect of a musical account of the creation of the Universe. This incomprehension still stands between the modern listener and full appreciation of "The Creation".
If we are to remove this barrier we must accept one fact; Haydn’s stylistic "naivety" was something profoundly sincere. As a man, he was far from naïve – a progressive and enlightened thinker, he possessed copies of numerous banned philosophical texts and, while in England, was a close friend of Thomas Holcroft - a radical political activist later arrested for his subversive views. And as a musician, he was the most accomplished symphonist of his day, a master-orchestrator who, furthermore, saw "The Creation" as the peak of his technical achievement. But beneath all this he possessed a simple and all-encompassing religious faith, and the candid, sincere nature of the Austrian peasant he had been born. Before composing he would invariably pray for inspiration, and, when writing sacred music could conceive of God only "…as a being infinitely great and infinitely good, and the idea of this latter attribute of the divine nature fills me with such confidence, such joy, that I should set even a miserere to cheerful music."
It is in this light that we should approach "The Creation". In producing his greatest and most ambitious work, Haydn let his inspiration pour from the simplest and profoundest feelings within him, realising the music that lay deepest in his nature – in the buoyant, melodious style of central-European folksong – with the most sophisticated technique of any 18th Century composer. This is why we never find in Haydn the unearthly serenity of Mozart’s greatest music, or Beethoven’s super-human strength, and this is the source of Haydn’s unique greatness. His music is always, fundamentally, that of simple humanity – firmly rooted amongst men, but constantly aspiring to be worthy of an infinitely benevolent God and His Creation. Through its profound and optimistic piety, its unaffected sincerity of expression and its true Enlightenment confidence in mankind’s potential for good, Joseph Haydn’s "Creation" comes as close to attaining this as any music ever can. He could have succeeded thus in no other way. Understanding this we can approach "The Creation" on its own terms and enjoy it, as audiences have for over 200 years, as "the greatest composer of his time at the very height of his powers, gathering al his resources to tackle the central mystery of our existence" and, above all, as "a statement of warm optimism about the world and our place in it, clothed in some of the most gorgeous music of music’s golden age".
Franz Joseph Haydn was born at Rohrau in modern Hungary on the 31st March 1732, the son of the village wheelwright. After training in the Imperial choir in Vienna, he entered the service of the powerful Eszterhazy family at the age of 29 and remained in their service for the next 29 years. On the death of Prince Nicholas Eszterhazy in 1790 he was given leave to visit England, where he achieved fame and fortune with his final twelve symphonies, was made an honorary doctor of Oxford University, and, after hearing performances of Handel’s oratorios at Westminster Abbey, determined to write an oratorio himself. On his final return to Austria in 1795, he took with him an English libretto based on Milton’s "Paradise Lost". Rendered into German by Gottfried von Swieten, a music-loving nobleman, Haydn set it as "Die Schöpfung" and published it in 1800 in London and Vienna re-translated into English as "The Creation". This is the edition being performed tonight. First performed on April 29th 1798, the work was an instant success, and was performed at Haydn’s last public appearance, a concert in March 1808 at which the 38-year old Beethoven knelt to kiss the older composer’s hands. Haydn died in Vienna on May 31st 1809 at the age of 77.
Part One
1. Introduction, the Representation of Chaos
After a mighty chord of C, Haydn depicts the infinite void in a prelude that sounds modern even today, one of the strangest and most impressive movements in all music. A hushed recitative prepares for the overwhelming creation of Light.
2. Aria (Uriel) and Chorus "Now Vanish before the Holy Beams"
A fresh and joyful song for the first morning of Creation.
3. Recitative (Raphael)
Haydn depicts the elements orchestrally before introducing each one.
4. Chorus with solo (Gabriel) "The Marvellous Work"
5. Recitative (Raphael)
6. Aria (Raphael) "Rolling in Foaming Billows"
Haydn’s orchestra depicts the sea, mountains and river valleys in romantic style
7. Recitative (Gabriel)
8. Aria (Gabriel) "With Verdure Clad"
This serene and lovely aria, with its 6/8 metre and birdsong-like woodwind writing, is the apotheosis of the 18th Century "pastoral" style.
9. Recitative (Uriel)
10. Chorus "Awake the Harp"
For the first time in the work Haydn sets out to emulate the mighty Handel choruses which had so inspired him in London. This vigorous chorus has long been one of the oratorio’s most popular numbers.
11. Recitative (Uriel)
12. Recitative (Uriel)
The sun rises in a radiant and festive D major for full orchestra. The moon receives cooler treatment.
13. Chorus with soli "The Heavens are Telling"
A worthy successor to Handel’s "Hallelujah" and a magnificent climax to the first part of the oratorio.
Part Two
14. Recitative (Gabriel)
15. Aria (Gabriel) "On Mighty Pens"
Clarinet, bassoons and flute respectively portray the larks, turtle-doves and nightingale.
16. Recitative (Raphael)
Accompanied by divisi violas and ‘celli.
17. Recitative (Raphael)
18. Trio "Most Beautiful Appear"
The three angels admire in turn the newly created hills, birds and fishes. Typically light-hearted touches paint the picture in the orchestra; flute for the circling birds, and, for the whale, what else but the double bass? The trio leads into…
19. Chorus with soli "The Lord is Great"
20. Recitative (Raphael)
21. Recitative (Raphael)
Another tone-painting recitative. The orchestra depicts the animals, lion down to man, before Raphael admires each one in turn.
22. Aria (Raphael) "Now Heaven in Fullest Glory Shone"
23. Recitative (Uriel)
God creates Man.
24. Aria (Uriel) "In Native Worth"
In this broad and noble aria, Haydn celebrates the Enlightenment’s vision of Humanity; the courage, dignity, intellect and capacity for love of Adam and Eve are all expressed in the music. The key of C suggests the innocence and perfection of humanity before the Fall.
25. Recitative (Raphael)
26. Chorus "Achieved is the Glorious Work"
27. Trio "On Thee each Living Soul Awaits"
28. Chorus "Achieved is the Glorious Work"
Haydn completes the chorus and rounds off Part Two with a double fugue.
Part Three
29. Introduction and Recitative (Uriel) "In Rosy Mantle Appears"
The orchestral prelude depicts dawn in Eden with three flutes accompanied by strings.
30. Duet (Adam and Eve) with Chorus "By Thee with Bliss"
A hymn to the glory of God and His creation.
31. Recitative (Uriel)
The angel warns lest the happy pair seek to know more than they should.
32. Finale, Chorus and soli "Sing the Lord, Ye Voices All".
A mighty and rousing double fugue ends the work with a final shout of praise.
R. G. Bratby
Copyright Classical Notes.co.uk 2000
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