Haydn: Die Schöpfung (The Creation)

Featuring

Bernard Haitink
Camilla Tilling
Hanno Müller-Brachmann
Mark Padmore
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

Joseph Haydn

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Cultural Impact

Haydn's 'The Creation' played a significant role in the flourishing of the amateur choir movement in the 19th century due to its central role for the chorus.

Compositional Technique

Haydn's 'The Creation' uses 'tone painting' with great detail, illustrating natural phenomena like 'fiery flashes of lightning' and 'foaming waves' through orchestration.

Performer Biography

Bernard Haitink, the conductor, has had an international career spanning five decades and has held positions with major orchestras like the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the London Philharmonic.

Composition History

Joseph Haydn was inspired to compose a large-scale oratorio after hearing several of Handel's oratorios during his first visit to London in 1791.

Historical Context

The libretto for 'The Creation' reflects the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason, light, and order, and largely omits the Fall of Man.

Composition History

Baron van Swieten, Prefect of the Vienna Court Library and a music patron, translated and arranged the English libretto for Haydn's 'The Creation' and helped finance its production.

Critical Reception

The success of 'The Creation' was so immediate that news of it spread like wildfire even before its premiere, and it was performed over 40 times in Vienna alone by 1810.