Haydn Die Schöpfung

Haydn’s Creation, the culmination of his life’s work, in a legendary 1986 performance conducted by Leonard Bernstein in the exquisite Baroque splendor of the Benedictine Abbey of Ottobeuren, Bavaria, now available on DVD for the first time. This spectacular performance also includes Bernstein’s spoken introduction to the performance —always an invaluable addition to any concert.

The oratorio "The Creation" is one of the highlights of Joseph Haydn's late oeuvre. The work, first performed in 1798, is considered the most successful work by the great composer and, at the same time, a prime example of the classical oratorio. The present recording of the creation dates from 1975. In the leading roles will sing the award-winning American soprano Helen Donath, the German tenor Adalbert Kraus and the Swiss bass baritone Kurt Widmer. They will be accompanied by the alto Vera Scherr as well as the Süddeutsche Madrigalchor and the Festival Orchestra Ludwigsburg, under the direction of Wolfgang Gönnenwein, the longtime artistic director of the festival (1972 to 2004).

Haydn’s late masterpiece, The Creation/Die Schöpfung has always existed in two versions, one in English and one in German. Loosely based on Milton’s Paradise Lost version of the creation story, the libretto had actually been offered to Handel, who never got around to setting it. Johann Salomon, the impresario, passed it to Haydn in 1794. Haydn was interested but apparently did not feel confident enough in his English to set the work in its original format.

After his years in London and the discovery of Handel’s Messiah, which had profoundly moved him, Joseph Haydn embarked on writing a large-scale religious work. For this very devout composer, this veritable act of faith would torment him for two years and from it would come an oratorio of penetrating intensity. After enjoying immediate success in Vienna, Die Schöpfung (The Creation) conquered the whole of Europe in less than a year.

Herbert von Karajan recorded between 1966 and 1968 with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and a cast of stars this reference version of 'The Creation' by Joseph Haydn.
After a legendary concert given in 1965 in Salzburg, Herbert von Karajan entered the studio a few months later to record Haydn's masterpiece with the same lead singers, Fritz Wunderlich and Gundula Janowitz. Almost completed in 1966, the recording was abruptly interrupted by the accidental and tragic death of Fritz Wunderlich at the age of 35, on September 17, 1966. The sessions then resume with a young tenor, Werner Krenn, who replaces Wunderlich on the songs. recitatives in particular.

Along with Handel's Messiah, which was greatly admired by Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), the oratorio The Creation is one of the few works of this genre written before 1800 that from the outset has enjoyed uninterrupted popularity with audiences and choirs alike. In this timeless classic dating from 1798, Haydn creates a musical world with such a variety of different expressive means that its radiant charisma is irresistible.

Inspired by hearing performances of Handel’s oratorios during his visits to London, Haydn composed Die Schöpfung (The Creation) in 1798. Through a series of accompanied recitatives, arias, duets and choruses, the music depicts the creation of the universe and the carefree existence of Adam and Eve. Haydn drew on the full complement of his symphonic and vocal prowess which reach peaks of almost operatic intensity. With rich harmonies and sonic magnificence in abundance, Die Schöpfung represents the apex of the Viennese oratorio tradition. It’s a monumental composition with orchestrations of superb richness in which Haydn combines the splendour of classicism with the majesty of sacred music. Large choruses, a sense of momentum and music that's both powerful and refined accompany the listener through the various phases of the Bible‘s account of the Creation, from the explosion of the first light to the marvelous air of the creation of man.

Franz Joseph Haydn's Die Schöpfung (The Creation) is one of the greatest oratorios, beloved for its moving religious content and admired for its abundant melodies, stirring choruses, imaginative scene-painting, and colorful orchestration. An argument can be made that period instrumentation and historically informed performance practices give a real boost to Haydn's scoring and effects, in ways conventional modern ensembles can't, and experts in early music make it especially striking by employing the sonorities the composer would have known and wanted.