Unusually we’re playing just the one piece for our season ending concert this year but what a piece of music it is — Haydn’s creation!

“The Creation” is an oratorio written by Joseph Haydn in 1797 and 1798, and considered by many to be one of his masterpieces. It depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as narrated in the Book of Genesis and is scored for soprano, tenor and bass soloists, chorus and a symphonic orchestra. Altogether this musical feast is around 2 hours long.

In three parts, and comprised of 34 separate movements, it ranks alongside Handel’s Messiah in terms of its scope, quality and its popularity too. Haydn utilises a range of styles: - some choral movements, some recitatives, and some arias — and an individual movement may involve one or more soloists together with the choir. So there is plenty of variety and a lot to look forward to.

Part I covers the first four days of creation. Part II covers days 5 and 6, whilst part III is set in the Garden on Eden after the creation and covers the the first happy hours of Adam and Eve’s existence. The soloists represent the archangels Raphael (bass), Uriel (tenor) and Gabriel (soprano) in parts I and II, whilst in part III the bass and soprano represent Adam and Eve.

Haydn was inspired to write this large oratorio during his visits to England when he heard George Frederic Handel’s “Israel in Egypt” performed by large numbers of musicians. Haydn likely wanted to try to achieve results of comparable weight, but now using the musical language of the fully matured classical style. And the result is this stunning work. Handel's works include various episodes of tone painting which perhaps provided the inspiration to Haydn's own pervasive use of this device in The Creation

Much of the text is taken either directly from the Bible books of Genesis and Psalms or from Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. Interestingly the librettist chose to adhere very closely to the English King James Version for the quotations from the Bible. The German text apparently corresponds to no known German Bible translation, instead, it is so constructed that the word order, syllabification, and stress patterns are as close as possible to the English Bible.

We’re joined by the Steel City Choristers for this performance. When Sheffield Cathedral Choir was controversially disbanded in 2020, former members gathered together to reimagine a community-orientated ensemble of mixed children’s and adult voices committed to English church music and the Steel City Choristers are the result — an independent and innovative choir of children and adults that make high-quality sacred choral music more accessible and relevant, so that more people can experience its beauty and enjoy its benefits.

There are several occasions in this piece when the orchestra plays alone, notably in the episodes of tone painting: the appearance of the Sun, the creation of various beasts, and above all in the overture, the famous depiction of the Chaos before the creation. But it is the number of pieces with voices that make this concert a new departure for the Orchestra -- one we trust you’ll be delighted with.