The ancient story of The Creation was based on the Book of Genesis in the Bible’s Old Testament. People were attempting to explain the origin of their Earth: that age old question, “From whence did we come and who made the Earth?” The ancients attempted to explain it by describing it as a work which took God six days to create. In that space of time, God had to create the world and all its living things. And on the seventh day, quite naturally, he rested. It was a good story and it was handed down through the generations. This particular version, in Haydn’s Creation, cleverly uses God’s angels to describe what they see God doing each day and we hear their own reactions as he creates his masterpiece.
Three of God’s most important angels, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel take turns to sing about the events of each day of God’s wondrous creation. But the listening, angelic choir just cannot contain their own wonder at this marvellous work and frequently interrupt and burst forth into sudden, excitable and spontaneous joyous praise.
Raphael and the angels tell us that on the first day, out of the complete and endless darkness, God’s spirit moved upon the waters. And God said, “Let there be light!” And there was “LIGHT” which, much to their annoyance, banished all the devils and their chaos into the “deep abyss” of “endless night”. Thank goodness for that!
On the second day, Raphael tells us that God separated the waters above and below the firmament creating “furious storms tempestuous rage”, “awful thunders”, “dreary wasteful hail” and “light and flaky snow”. At the end of this second day’s work, in gracious and stately tones, the soprano Gabriel extols “the marv’llous work” and is joined by the choir in full-voiced agreement. Their voices rise to the heavens as Gabriel’s voice soars still higher above the rest of the angels.
Raphael relates that God’s work on the third day was to create the seas and the land. Haydn’s musical ability does not disappoint us, and he gives his orchestra really beautiful music to play which represents the motion of the seas brilliantly. You will be delighted by Haydn’s musical composition skills here as Raphael and orchestra engage in a playful cat-and-mouse game. Raphael is inspired to sing an air about “boisterous seas” and “foaming billows” separating them from the dry lands with mountains so high, that “their tops are among the clouds”. The mood changes and suddenly Raphael is in a tranquil, pastoral land and sings a peaceful, ambling air about the open plains and great rivers winding like serpents across the vales, and smaller softly purling “limpid brooks”.
On the third day God commanded the Earth to bring forth grass and fruiting trees, which inspires Gabriel to sing a beautiful, gentle song about the verdure of the Earth. Haydn gives the soprano Gabriel a song which shows the versality of her voice with a series of running notes and many trills. Uriel tells us that the heavenly host of angels are unable to contain themselves at the beauty of what God has created. The host of angels awake their harps and lyres, and burst forth into joyful music and song as they “rejoice in the Lord, the almighty God”.
Uriel then reminds us that on the fourth day, God created the sun, the stars and the moon, the day and the night, and the changing seasons. The orchestration of the sun and stars being created is absolutely brilliant and Uriel himself, in beautiful tenor voice, is unable to contain himself and sings a wonderful solo about the beauty of the movement of the sun and stars. “The space immense of the azure sky, a countless host of radiant orbs adorns.”
The angelic host totally agree and join in, fervently singing, “The heavens are telling the glory of God. The wonder of his work displays the firmament.” And for the first time, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel also burst forth in song too and sing in harmony. And finally, together with the whole host of angels, they create a majestic finale which brings the first part to an end.
Go to the next instalment of Dee’s blog here ☞
Deirdre Tilbury, Membership Secretary, Arun Choral Society 2023
Tickets for Arun Choral Society’s performance of Haydn’s The Creation are now on sale from www.wegottickets.com/arunchoralsociety or via email at boxoffice@arunchoralsociety.co.uk.
