JOSEPH HAYDN: Die Schöpfung (The Creation) – oratorio, Hob. XXI:2

Melissa Petit soprano
Bernhard Berchtold tenor
Thomas E. Bauer bass
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)
Concerto Budapest

Conductor: György Vashegyi

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) composed his monumental later work, The Creation oratorio, in 1797. The libretto for the three-part masterpiece was written by the highly educated polymath Baron Gottfried van Swieten, and was based on The First Book of Moses and Milton’s poem Paradise Lost. The composition received its world premiere at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 19 March 1799. The performance will feature the world-class soloists Melissa Petit, Bernhard Berchtold and Thomas E. Bauer for the second concert of the Pászti season ticket at the Vigadó Concert Hall, as well as the Hungarian National Choir and Concerto Budapest, directed by the recent Kossuth Prize-winner György Vashegyi.

Hadyn composed his highly significant later work The Creation in 1797 for the libretto of the Dutch-born Austrian diplomat Gottfried van Swieten, a baron of encyclopedic knowledge who based the text on The First Book of Moses and Milton’s poem Paradise Lost. The extremely successful world premiere of the three-part oratorio, which consists of 31 songs, took place at the Burgtheater in Vienna in 19 March 1799. The Creation conveys the values of the Enlightenment, radiating the idea that order reigns in the universe and that there is a beneficent paternal power that cares for everything and everyone, and which guides the fate of all living things. One of the most important musical qualities of the work is its descriptive spirit. The piece uses a wide variety of tools to depict the qualities of both living and inanimate creations, opening up countless possibilities for Haydn’s much-vaunted playfulness. On the second evening of the Pászti season ticket, The Creation will feature a world-class list of international soloists: the French soprano Melissa Petit, the Austrian tenor Bernhard Berchtold and the German baritone Thomas E. Bauer will appear alongside the Hungarian National Choir and Concerto Budapest, directed by recent Kossuth Prize-winner György Vashegyi.