Haydn - The Creation

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Haydn was inspired to write a large oratorio during his visits to England in 1791 and 1794, when he heard oratorios by Handel performed by large choirs and orchestras. Karl Geiringer in his book on Haydn points out “these years devoted to the composition of The Creation were among the richest and happiest in Haydn’s life”. So he was obviously a contended man as he worked (slowly) on it.

THE CREATION is structured in three parts and is often regarded as his masterpiece.

The first part deals with the creation of light, of heaven and earth, of the sun and moon, of the land and water, and of plants. The second concerns the creation of the animals, man and woman. The final part describes Adam and Eve during their happy time in the Garden of Eden.

The first public performance at Vienna's old Burgtheater on 19 March 1799 was sold out well in advance. A friend of Haydn was reported to have said:

“At the moment when light broke out for the first time, one would have said that rays darted from the composer's burning eyes. The enchantment of the electrified Viennese was so general that the orchestra could not proceed for some minutes”.

THE CREATION had its London premiere in 1800, using the English text, at Covent Garden. The last performance Haydn attended was on 27th March, 1808, just a year before he died: the aged and ill Haydn was carried in with great honour on an armchair. According to one account, the audience broke into spontaneous applause at the coming of "light" and Haydn, in a typical gesture, weakly pointed upwards and said: "Not from me—everything comes from up there!"

How it Works

We have recorded “backing tracks” for our learning with the well known chamber choir, Fieri Consort. We have also recorded the entire piece on the organ at St. Mary Redcliffe Church in Bristol, a church renowned for the beauty of its Gothic architecture and is classed as a Grade I listed building by Historic England. It was famously described by Queen Elizabeth I as "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England."

We shall combine all the voices and the organ to create our backing tracks for the course. We shall create “voice part louder” tracks so that we can learn our own part more effectively.

Ben will teach us The Creation in live sessions in English and in separate voice parts. He will then invite us to submit our own voice for the choruses which we shall combine together in the studio for a Concert Premiere performance.

Timings

The course starts on 4th October 2021 leading to a full Concert performance on 12th December.

REHEARSAL TIMINGS - all at 17:00 (UK time):

WEEK ONE
Monday 4th October - FULL CHOIR (available as a recording)
Tuesday 5th October - Soprano
Wednesday 6th October - Alto
Thursday 7th October - Tenor
Friday 8th October - Bass

WEEK TWO
Monday 11th October - FULL CHOIR
Tuesday 12th October - Soprano
Wednesday 13th October - Alto
Thursday 14th October - Tenor
Friday 15th October - Bass

WEEK THREE
Monday 18th October - FULL CHOIR
Tuesday 19th October - Soprano
Wednesday 20th October - Alto
Thursday 21st October - Tenor
Friday 22nd October - Bass

WEEK FOUR
Monday 25th October - FULL CHOIR
Tuesday 26th October - Soprano
Wednesday 27th October - Alto
Thursday 28th October - Tenor
Friday 29th October - Bass

Sing through: Sunday 31st October at 17:00

Recording closes 13th December

Course Fee

The Course fee is £40 and this covers:

Online score

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All the teaching materials

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Recording videos and conducting tracks

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Complete new recording with Orchestra and Soloists

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Studio Mixing

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Concert Premiere

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Memento picture of the whole choir, orchestra and soloists

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MP3 files of the final mixed SIC tracks for you to keep

Please note: Choir of the Earth has been careful to ensure there are minimal rehearsal clashes in 2021, however rehearsal and course times are subject to change.