Haydn described his work on 'The Creation' by saying he had never felt such devotion, summing it up as 'the angels speak and tell about God'.
Compositional Technique
Haydn's 'The Creation' features innovative formal and harmonic solutions, including bold chromaticism to depict chaos, which some compare to Wagner's 'Tristan und Isolde'.
Composition History
The libretto for 'The Creation' was likely provided by Johann Peter Salomon, an impresario and close friend of Haydn, and was inspired by John Milton's 'Paradise Lost'.
Compositional Technique
The oratorio uses onomatopoeic effects to describe animals and atmospheric events, a technique Haydn also employed in some of his symphonies.
Notable Performances
The work was first performed in German on March 19, 1799, at Vienna's Karntnerthor-Theater, in a translation by Gottfried van Swieten, director of the court library.
Composer Biography
Franz Joseph Haydn, at the height of his career, composed 'The Creation' between 1796 and 1798, deploying his amplest forces to date.
Composition History
Haydn's 'The Creation' was inspired by Handel's oratorios, which he encountered during his 1791 stay in London.
