Haydn The Creation

Inspired by Haydn’s trips to England, where he first heard Handel’s oratorios, The Creation is widely considered Haydn’s crowning masterpiece. Set for three vocal soloists, four-part chorus, and a large Classical orchestra, there seems little doubt that Haydn wanted a big sound (by the standard of his day) for this work. Based on both the biblical Book of Genesis and Milton’s Paradise Lost, the oratorio was premiered in the US by the Handel and Haydn Society in 1819.

The three-time Grammy-nominated Boston Baroque, widely regarded as ‘one of the world's premier period-instruments bands', marks the beginning of its relationship with Linn with a two-disc recording of Haydn's The Creation. The Creation remains one of the greatest works in the choral repertoire and has been astonishing audiences since its premiere in 1798.

Haydn’s stupendous, joyous and uplifting oratorio Die Schöpfung (The Creation) is thrillingly brought to life in this recording with Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducting the Houston Symphony, with the Houston Symphony Chorus and the acclaimed operatic soloists Nicole Heaston, Toby Spence and Peter Rose. With its startling dramatic gestures, bold orchestral colours and sublimely beautiful word painting, Haydn’s astonishing depiction of the Genesis creation story remains his supreme masterpiece and one of the best-loved works in the entire choral repertoire. In a vivid series of tableaux, from the creation of light to Adam and Eve’s love duet, Haydn brings to life the birds, beasts and angels which all rejoice in soaring, life-affirming music.

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.

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.

With sixty-eight works to his credit, Joseph Haydn was not only the founding father of the string quartet, but also an undisputed master of the genre. While his influence was of decisive importance for his direct successors, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, it continued to be felt in the Romantic period and right up to the twentieth century, notably in the composers of the Second Viennese School. His music in perpetual ferment is an unceasing source of wonder, dispensed to us, generation after generation, by ensembles the world over. Impish, inventive, radiant, full of humour, it offers inexhaustible joys to all who listen to or play it.

Sir Simon Rattle pays homage to a composer he holds close to his heart with An Imaginary Orchestral Journey through the music of Joseph Haydn. Rattle trawls through the great composer’s impressive catalogue, piecing together excerpts from symphonies, oratorios and operas spanning a 40-year period in what the director describes as ‘a kind of greatest hits’ format.

Let there be light! To open the new concert season, the Tonkunstler Orchestra and their Music Director Yutaka Sado are joined by the RIAS Chamber Choir and three excellent vocal soloists to tackle nothing less than «The Creation» itself. Premiered in 1798 in the Stadtpalais Schwarzenberg, which then stood on the Neue Markt square in Vienna, this German-language oratorio by Joseph Haydn takes the Book of Genesis as its subject matter. In the solo parts, archangels describe and comment on the six days of the Creation, with Adam and Eve also having their say. Meanwhile, the orchestra makes a painting in sound of the primordial chaos, the first sunrise and the appearance of creatures on earth.

Sir Simon Rattle pays homage to a composer he holds close to his heart with An Imaginary Orchestral Journey through the music of Joseph Haydn. Rattle trawls through the great composer's impressive catalogue, piecing together excerpts from symphonies, oratorios and operas spanning a 40-year period in what the director describes as 'a kind of greatest hits' format.

Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli (Mass in Time of War) ‒ a classical work for our times. Indeed, his faith was never of the bleak, incessantly penitential kind, but cheerful, reconciled and trusting, and it was in this spirit that he composed his sacred works, too. (Georg August Griesinger on Joseph Haydn, 1810).