the creation: text and notes on the music

“I was never so devout as when I was at work on The Creation; I fell on my knees each day and begged God to give me the strength
to finish the work….I spent much time over it because I expect it to last for a long time….” –F.J.H.

The last major work of Franz Joseph Haydn’s lengthy career is also one of the masterpieces of the choral-orchestral
repertoire, and a microcosm of the optimistic faith of the composer and the Enlightenment era in which he lived.
Haydn worked on the oratorio for a year and a half, and published editions in both German and English, making this
the first bilingual major work in the canon. The 1798 Vienna premiere of the work, open only to a select private
audience, caused such buzz (Haydn, by this point in his artistic life, had achieved rock-star status in both Austria and
England) that the streets outside the Schwarzenberg Palace filled with curious spectators; it took thirty police officers to
keep them contained. Two centuries later, the work remains enormously popular, thanks to its abundance of hummable
melodies, pictorial text-setting, and irrepressible cheer. Surely any composer, looking over this “glorious work,” would
have had to conclude that “it was good”—though the famously humble Haydn, who deflected an outburst of applause
at an early performance by pointing demurely to the sky, would never have admitted as much.

Anonymous English text compiled from biblical sources and from Paradise Lost by John Milton (1608–74),
reworked by Baron Gottfried von Swieten and edited by Nicholas Temperley
Notes by Eliza Rubenstein

PART I

Representation of Chaos (orchestra)

Recitative (Raphael) The murky, roiling, dissonant orchestral opening of The

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Creation is among Haydn’s most famous and ingenious
And the earth was without form and void; innovations: in his quest to depict the chaos of
And darkness was upon the face of the deep. primordial nothingness, he ends up writing harmonic
progressions that won’t be seen again for nearly a
Chorus hundred years. Out of this darkness emerge the first
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face stirrings of divine creativity (told by one of the three
of the waters; Archangels to whom the bulk of the oratorio’s
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. narration is entrusted), culminating in one of the most
celebrated musical surprises in musical history; if you’re
new to the work, we won’t spoil it for you.

Recitative (Uriel)
And God saw the light, that it was good: Gone with a sweep of God’s hand is the tumult of the
and God divided the Light from the darkness. opening movement, replaced by a “new-created world”
of sunny A Major, into which the chorus steps with the
Aria (Uriel) with Chorus tentative wonder of Dorothy into Oz. The “despairing
Now vanish before the holy beams rage” of the fallen spirits of hell is brutal but short-
The gloomy dismal shades of dark: lived—a classic example not only of Haydn’s decisive
The first of days appears. text-painting, but also of his chronic inability to stay
Disorder yields to order fair the place; angry for very long at a stretch.
Affrighted fled hell’s spirits black in throngs;
Down they sink in the deep of abyss
to endless night.
Despairing cursing rage attends their rapid fall.
A new-created world springs up at God’s command.
Recitative (Raphael)
And God made the firmament, As God creates weather in the cosmos, so Haydn
and divided the waters which were under the creates it in the orchestra: furiously fast-moving notes
firmament from the waters which were above the for the “dreadful” thunderstorms, gentle triplets for the
firmament; and it was so. spring rain, aimless tremolos for the “wasteful” hail,
Outrageous storms now dreadful arise; and soft spiky eighth notes for the snowfall. (In this
As chaff by the winds are impelled the clouds. recitative as in others later in the oratorio, Haydn
By heaven’s fire the sky is enflamed, illustrates the text in the orchestra before the singer
And awful roll the thunders on high. voices it, as if to invite the audience into a guessing
Now from the floods in steams ascend game.)
Reviving showers of rain,
The dreary wasteful hail, the light and flaky snow.

Aria (Gabriel) with Chorus

The marv’lous work beholds amazed When Baron Gottfried von Swieten took his editorial
The glorious hierarchy of heav’n, quill to the work of The Creation’s now-anonymous
And to th’ ethereal vaults resounds English author, he brought with him an unmistakably
The praise of God, (and sometimes regrettably) Teutonic sense of syntax;
And of the second day. hence the confusing first clause of this charming
number, which means to say that the hierarchy of
heaven—i.e., the heavenly host—beholds (with
amazement!) God’s work-in-progress, not vice versa.

Recitative (Raphael)
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven Water, water everywhere! Haydn follows the more
be gathered together unto one place, staid, Biblically-based recitative with a particularly
and let the dry land appear: and it was so. enthusiastically illustrated aria: The “boist’rous sea”
And God called the dry land Earth; churns in angry sixteenth notes, but yields midway
and the gathering of waters called he Seas; through the aria to the softly gliding brook. Listen for
and God saw that it was good. Haydn’s text-painting, most obviously in the wandering
of the serpentine river, but subtly, too, in the spiky
Aria (Raphael) “mountains and rocks” poking through the clouds.
Rolling in foaming billows
Uplifted roars the boist’rous sea.
Mountains and rocks now emerge:
Their tops into the clouds ascend.
Through open plains outstretching wide,
In serpent error rivers flow. Softly purling glideth on
Through silent vales the limpid brook.

Recitative (Gabriel)
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, With lyricism and lilt the plant kingdom makes its
the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit soothing entrance into the new world. It’s not hard to
after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth: imagine a young twisting vine searching for sunlight at
and it was so. the long melismas that end the phrase “...shoots the
healing plant.”
Aria (Gabriel)
With verdure clad the fields appear
Delightful to the ravished sense; by flowers sweet and
gay enhanced is the charming sight.
Here vent their fumes the fragrant herbs;
Here shoots the healing plant.
By loads of fruits th’ expanded boughs are pressed;
to shady vaults are bent the tufty groves;
The mountain’s brow is crowned with closed wood.
Recitative (Uriel)
And the heavenly host proclaimed the third day, The chorus returns to exhort the masses (of angels—
praising God and saying: humans haven’t yet been created, technically) to lift
their voices and instruments in praise of God’s
Chorus unfolding works. Haydn gives us the oratorio’s first
Awake the harp, the lyre awake! fugue at the text “For he the heavens and earth has
In shout and joy your voices raise! clothed in stately dress.”
In triumph sing the mighty Lord!
For he the heavens and earth has clothed
in stately dress.

Recitative (Uriel)
And God said, Is there a more glorious passage in all of Classical-Era
Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven music than the sunrise Haydn evokes at the midpoint
to divide the day from the night, of these two recitatives? Never, perhaps, has a
and to give light upon the earth: harmonized D-Major scale been so expansive or so
and let them be for signs, and for seasons, expressive. Alas, the text that follows represents the
and for days, and for years. height of Enlightenment-Era overwriting, yet it’s easy
He made the stars also. to forgive, both for its earnest eagerness and for its
felicitous position between two of the work’s most
Recitative (Uriel) memorable moments.
In splendour bright is rising now the sun,
And darts his rays; an am’rous, joyful, happy spouse,
A giant proud and glad to run his measured course.
With softer beams and milder light
steps on the silver moon through silent night.
The space immense of th’ azure sky
Innum’rous host of radiant orbs adorns.
And the sons of God announced the fourth day
In song divine, proclaiming thus his pow’r:

Chorus with Trio

The heavens are telling the glory of God; The oratorio’s most excerpted movement, well known
The firmament displays the wonder of his works. to church-choir singers worldwide, concludes Part I in
To day that is coming speaks it the day; full C-Major splendor, with God’s word transformed
the night that is gone, to following night. into a verdant, vibrant new planet ready for habitation.
In all the land resounds the word,
Never unperceived, ever understood.

LET THERE BE APPLAUSE

PART II

Recitative (Gabriel)
And God said, The birds are the first of the fauna to arrive, by means
Let the waters bring forth of one of the most elaborately virtuosic arias in the
abundantly the moving creature oratorio. Haydn’s text-painting gets a full workout here:
that hath life, and fowl Listen for the soaring and hovering of the eagle, the
that may fly above the earth trills of the cooing dove, and the sweet song of the
in the open firmament of heaven. nightingale, who in these young, fresh days of the earth
has not yet acquired the mythologically mournfulness
that will come to define her symbolically later on.
Aria (Gabriel)
On mighty pens uplifted soars the eagle aloft,
and cleaves the sky in swiftest flight to the blazing sun.
His welcome bids to morn the merry lark,
And cooing calls the tender dove his mate.
From ev’ry bush and grove resound
The nightingale’s delightful notes;
No grief affected yet her breast,
Nor to a mournful tale were tuned
Her soft, enchanting lays.

Recitative (Raphael)
And God created great whales, In the depths of the ocean we find a classic example of
and ev’ry living creature that moveth. Haydn’s blend of humor and creativity: The violins sit
And God blessed them, saying, silent while the lower strings, divided into multiple
Be fruitful all, and multiply! parts, slither and writhe like great watery beasts.
Ye winged tribes, be multiplied and sing on ev’ry tree!
Multiply, ye finny tribes, and fill each wat’ry deep!
Be fruitful, grow, and multiply!
And in your God and Lord rejoice.

Recitative (Raphael)
And the angels struck their immortal harps, The abundance and diversity of God’s blessings find
and the wonders of the fifth day sung. voice in this rapturous sequence, which opens with an
expository recitative, continues into a charming trio
Trio (the melody recalls the famous “La cì darem la mano”
Most beautiful appear, from Mozart’s Don Giovanni), and closes with a rousing
With verdure young adorned, chorus of praise, lit thrillingly by vocal fireworks from
The gently sloping hills. the soloists.
The narrow, sinuous veins
Distil in crystal drops
The fountain fresh and bright.
In lofty circles plays
And hovers through the sky
The cheerful host of birds.
And in the flying whirl,
The glitt’ring plumes are dyed,
As rainbows, by the sun.
See flashing through the wet
In thronged swarms the fry
On thousand ways around.
Upheaved from the deep,
The immense leviathan
Sports on the foaming wave.
How many are thy works, O God!
Who may their numbers tell?

Trio with Chorus

The Lord is great, and great his might.
His glory lasts for ever and for evermore.
Recitative (Raphael)
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living Haydn must have practically drooled in anticipation
creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing, when he saw all the opportunities this recitative offered
and beasts of the earth after their kind. him. He writes his very own “carnival of the animals,”
complete with roaring lion, bounding tiger, rearing
Recitative (Raphael) horse, lowing cattle, and baaing sheep (notice that the
Straight opening her fertile womb, the earth obeys the sheep don’t have their own melody—they merely
word, and teem creatures numberless, duplicate the cattle’s tune, because they’re sheep), but
in perfect form and fully grown. saves the best for last with an irritating swarm of
Cheerful, roaring, stands the tawny lion; insects and a slimy worm. The aria that follows, by
In sudden leaps the flexible tiger appears; contrast, is majestic and regal (except for the comic
The nimble stag bears up his branching head. relief of the thunderous footfall of the “heavy beasts”),
With flying mane and fiery look impatient neighs the celebrating the near-complete animal kingdom. All
sprightly steed; the cattle in herds already seek that’s missing is the human creature, who will make his-
Their food on fields and meadows green. and-her entrance in the next movement.
And o’er the ground, as plants are spread the fleecy,
meek, and bleating flocks. Unnumbered as the sands,
In whirls arise the host of insects. In long dimensions
creeps with sinuous trace the worm.

Aria (Raphael)
Now heav’n in all her glory shines;
Earth smiles in all her rich attire.
The room of air with fowl is filled,
The water swelled by shoals of fish;
By heavy beasts the ground is trod.
But all the work was not complete:
There wanted yet that wondrous being
That grateful should God’s pow’r admire,
With heart and voice his goodness praise.

Recitative (Uriel)
So God created man in his own image, The “beauty, courage, strength,” and “wisdom” of the
in the image of God created he him; newly-created Adam reflect the human qualities most
male and female created he them. prized in Enlightenment-era philosophy, and Eve
He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, embodies that age’s ideal of womanhood with her grace
and man became a living soul. and deference. (Listen to the lingering “joy” at the end
of the movement; is it a suspended moment of pure
Aria (Uriel) happiness, or a melancholy foreshadowing of the fall to
In native worth and honour clad, come, or both?) This aria may well have been among
With beauty, courage, strength adorned, the last works Haydn ever heard performed: A soldier
To heav’n erect and tall he stands a man, in Napoleon’s invading army sang it for Haydn several
The lord and king of nature all. days before the composer’s death in 1809, as a gesture
The large and arched brow sublime. of appreciation and respect.
Of wisdom deep declares the seat,
And in his eyes with brightness shines the soul.
The breath and image of his God.
With fondness leans upon his breast
The partner for him formed,
A woman, fair and graceful spouse.
Her softly smiling virgin looks,
Of flow’ry spring the mirror,
Bespeak him love, and joy, and bliss.
Recitative (Raphael)
And God saw ev’ry thing that he had made, Part II concludes with a sequence that sandwiches a
and, behold, it was very good. beautifully reflective trio—the last joint statement from
And the heavenly choir in song divine the three Archangels—between two mighty choral
thus closed the sixth day: movements. The trio reminds the new inhabitants of
the earth of the “God giveth and God taketh away”
Chorus and trio rules under which their new world operates—note
Achieved is the glorious work: especially the bass’s chilling entrance at “But when
The Lord beholds it, and is pleased. from them thy face is hid.” The chorus, in joyous B-flat
In lofty strains let us rejoice! Major, gives no quarter to such conflict; Haydn ends
Our song let be the praise of God! the first (and shorter) of the choral sections with a
On thee each living soul awaits; bright and busy fugue, and the second with an even
From thee, O Lord, they beg their meat. more ingenious double fugue. Creation is complete—but
Thou openest thy hand, and sated all they are. the story is not.
But when from them thy face is hid,
With sudden terror they are struck.
Thou tak’st their breath away; they vanish into dust.
Thou lett’st thy breath go forth again,
And life with vigor fresh returns.
Revived earth unfolds new force and new delights.
Achieved is the glorious work,
Our song must be the praise of God!
Glory to his name for ever!
He sole on high exalted reigns. Alleluia.

LET THERE BE INTERMISSION

PART III

Hymn (Adam, Eve, and Chorus)

By thee with bliss, O bounteous Lord, Part III gives us the longest movement in the oratorio:
The heav’n and earth are filled. the three-part Hymn sung by Adam, Eve, and the
This world, so great, so wonderful, chorus of angels. In the adagio that begins the
Thy mighty hand has framed. movement, we can imagine the newly-created pair
For ever blessed be his pow’r! exploring their new home with all the awe and delight
His name be ever magnified! of a young couple on HGTV, reviewing (and marveling
Of stars the fairest, O how sweet at) the chronological catalog of God’s creations as
Thy smile at dawning morn! described in Part I and Part II of the work. The chorus
How bright’nest thou, O sun, the day, of angels encourages them along the way, first in
Thou eye and soul of all! hushed tones and then in sprightly counterpoint. The
Proclaim in your extended course movement culminates with a massive homophonic
The glorious pow’r and might of God. statement of praise and another of Haydn’s masterful
And thou that rul’st the silent night, fugues. Ye purling fountains, tune his praise,
And all ye starry host,
Spread wide and ev’rywhere his praise
In choral songs about.
Ye strong and cumbrous elements,
Who ceaseless changes make,
Ye dusky mists, and dewy steams,
Who rise and fall through the air:
Resound the praise of God our Lord!
Great is his name, and great his might.
And wave your tops, ye pines!
Ye plants exhale, ye flowers breathe
At him your balmy scent!
Ye that on mountains stately tread,
And ye that lowly creep,
Ye birds that sing at heaven’s gate,
Ye that through waters glide,
Ye living souls, extol the Lord!
Him celebrate, him magnify!
Ye valleys, hills, and shady woods,
Our raptured notes ye heard;
From morn to ev’n you shall repeat
Our grateful hymns of praise.
Hail, bounteous Lord! Almighty, hail!
Thy word called forth this wondrous frame.
Thy pow’r adore the heav’n and earth.
We praise thee now and evermore.

Recitative (Adam and Eve)

—Our duty we have now performed Having admired their surroundings, Adam and Eve
In off’ring up to God our thanks. turn their attention to each other. (In Adam’s opening
Now follow me, dear partner of my life! line—“Our duty we have now performed / In off’ring
Thy guide I’ll be, and ev’ry step up to God our thanks / Now follow me….”—there is
Pours new delights into our breast, almost a sense of crossing off an item on his to-do list
shows wonders ev’rywhere. in order to get to the exciting stuff. Haydn doesn’t miss
Then may’st thou feel and know this; listen to the spring in the step of the fortepiano at
The high degree of bliss the Lord allotted us, these words.) The happy couple’s love duet is
And with devoted heart his bounty celebrate. reminiscent of Mozart opera in its lyricism and wit, and
Come follow me! Thy guide I’ll be. the hunting-horn calls from the orchestra at the quicker
—O thou, for whom I am! second section give the movement the feel of a folk
My help, my shield, my all! Thy will is law to me. dance at a country wedding.
So God, our Lord, ordains,
And from obedience grows my pride and happiness.

Duet (Adam and Eve)

—Graceful consort! At thy side
softly fly the golden hours.
Ev’ry moment brings new rapture,
ev’ry care is put to rest.
—Spouse adored! At thy side
purest joys o’erflow the heart.
Life and all I am is thine; my reward thy love shall be.
—The dew dropping morn, O how she quickens all!
—The coolness of ev’n, O how she all restores!
—How grateful is of fruits the savour sweet!
—How pleasing is of fragrant bloom the smell!
—But without thee, what is to me
The morning dew, the breath of ev’n,
The sav’ry fruit? The fragrant bloom?
With thee is ev’ry joy enhanced;
With thee delight is ever new.
With thee is life incessant bliss. Thine it whole shall be.
Recitative (Uriel)
O happy pair, and ever happy still, Blink during this recitative, and you might miss the fact
Unless, by false conceit misled, that the story of Adam and Eve does not, in fact, have
Ye strive at more than granted is, a happy ending. How typical that the eternally
And more would know than know you should! optimistic Haydn should freeze the loving couple in
permanent bliss, with only the barest hint of the
transgression and eviction to come!

Chorus with Soli

Sing the Lord, ye voices all! One more powerful hymn of praise; one more robust
Utter thanks, all ye his works! double fugue; one last flare of virtuosity from the
Celebrate his pow’r and glory! soloists (plus a heretofore unused alto)—and the
Let his name resound on high! “glorious work” is achieved. Amen!
The Lord is great; his praise shall never end. Amen.

THE END

[Link]