Die Schöpfung

Haydn's Oratorio, Die Schöpfung (The Creation, 1798) was the first of the two late major oratorios, the second being Die Jahreszeiten. (The Seasons, 1801.) These were both to texts of Baron Gottfried van Sweiten (a musical amateur who providentially helped to introduce Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven to the music of J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel, among others.) loosely based respectively on Milton and Thompson. Both of these librettos are not first-rate, especially the second which led to something of a falling-out between Haydn and van Sweiten.

This DVD was recorded in 1992 and according to a review on Amazon.com, the performance was filmed in the Jesuit Church in Lucerne, Switzerland but this information is not given on the DVD. Also not given are any translations either in the form of captions or libretto.

Haydn was a devout Catholic though a Freemason like Mozart and the text is, of course, ultimately based on the Old Testament. Archaeology as a science was still in its infancy as was anthropology so the text is still totally "fundamentalist".

Musically, the oratorio consists of 3 soloists, only briefly expanded to 4 for the final chorus by the addition of an alto (here unidentified.) who sings only a few notes and is usually picked, as here, from the chorus. The soloists double as both the archangel Gabriel and Eve (soprano), Raphael and Adam (bass) and the tenor is Uriel.

The chorus usually is praising God in some kind of counterpoint and the double influences of Handel and J.S. Bach are very apparent.

Among the soloists, the standout is the bass René Pape, with Edith Mathis a close second and the tenor Christophe Pregardien is good also if somewhat "lower than the other angels".

The conducting by Peter Schreier (himself a well-known tenor) is very fine, the camera work and sound are serviceable but I wonder why the close-ups of Pape show not only his five o'clock shadow but his dental work as well. And Mathis' flowered dress is also rather unnecessarily eye-filling.

A fine performance among many on a DVD without extras, libretto or subtitles.

Haydn may be prolific in symphonic and chamber music, all of which is very beautiful and very important in the history/development of those genres, but I am of the opinion of having a slight preference to his choral work with Die Schoepfung(The Creation) being the top of the pack. This performance is not quite as good as the Bernstein(hugely emotional and with great luxury casting) and especially Muti(very interesting from a historically-informed perspective, just as magnificently performed and even better shot and recorded) ones, but it is still very fine. For me, its only problem was the occasional balance issue in the otherwise beautifully-sung and dramatically committed chorus singing, with the women being more prominent than the men(the tenor section does sound underpowered here). The performance is recorded with plenty of resonance, making the most of the spacious setting the performance is performed in, and is well-shot and focuses on the right people at the right time at least. The venue is lovingly spacious and beautifully captured on film. The performance as expected is fantastic musically, with the classical style, lyricism and dramatic intensity of the music present all of the time. The orchestra sound glorious and they consistently play attentively and incisively, what was also good was that while on modern instruments there is still a period/historically informed perspective quality to their playing. Peter Schreier(yes Peter Schreier the tenor) proves to be a surprisingly strong conductor, he is very flexible and sympathetic but also has a good ear for musical drama and precision. The three soloists don't disappoint, Rene Pape is the most well-known name and provides some truly warm tone, great connection to the drama and text and silky phrasing, all of three he still has now in fact over twenty years on. Edith Mathis, while not in the same league as Lucia Popp for the Bernstein and Muti DVDs, is similarly very good; she has the lion's share of the solo music and while not in her prime(60s-early 70s) she still sings with confidence, pure but never edgy tone and honeyed phrasing. Christoph Pregardien's sensitive delivery of the text and pleasantly silvery voice(with only a couple of instances where he pushes ever so slightly) were much appreciated too. In conclusion, a fine performance of The Creation but not the best available. 9/10 Bethany Cox