The Creation

Question 1

The Creation background information

Answer 1

• oratorio
• Franz Joseph Haydn
• Die Schöpfung
• German version by Braon Gottfried van Swieten
• book of Genesis, John Milton’s epic poem: Paradise Lost
• completed 1798
• 3 parts, each w/ multiple mvts
• soprano, tenor, bass soloists, SATB chorus, orchestra (w/ continuo for the recitatives)

Question 2

The Creation essay sections

Answer 2

• Structure
• Principal Characters
• No. 12
• No. 13
• No. 14

Question 3

The Creation Structure

Answer 3

• 3 parts:
• Part 1: First four days of Creation
• Part 2: last three days of Creation
• Part 3: Garden of Eden

Question 4

The Creation Principal Characters

Answer 4

• Gabriel, soprano, archangel
• Uriel, tenor, archangel
• Raphael, bass, archangel
• Adam, bass, first man
• Eve, soprano, first woman

Question 5

The Creation No. 12 title

Answer 5

“And God said: Let there be light” (Uriel’s Recitative)

Question 6

The Creation No. 12 info

Answer 6

• begins in C major
• C (meter)
• recitativo secco sung by Uriel: sparse accompaniment
• declamatory style: text clarity
• fourth day of Creation: God created earth and the heavens, sun, moon, and stars

Question 7

The Creation No. 13 title

Answer 7

“In splendor bright” (Uriel’s Recitative)

Question 8

The Creation No. 13 info

Answer 8

• begins in D major
• Andante
• cut time
• recitativo accompagnato
• orchestral introduction: rising of sun depicted w/ slow ascending D major scale & broad orchestral crescendo
• word painting:
• “In splendor bright”: rocket motive in cellos and basses (punctuated by bold orchestral chord)
• “With softer beams”: in G major (subdominant key); celloes and basses softly a gentle ascending melody; quiet ascent of the moon
• “The space immense”: dotted chords; punctuate music; countless stars in night sky

Question 9

The Creation No. 14 title

Answer 9

“The Heavens Are Telling the Glory of God” (Chorus and Trio; Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael)

Question 10

The Creation No. 14 info

Answer 10

• begins in C major
• Allegro
• cut time
• SATB chorus: homorhythmic setting accompanied by orchestra
• short trio: “night” suggested by brief shift to C minor (word painting)
• chorus return to opening melody, now material treated contrapuntally
• trio soloists: “In all the lands” repeated expansively suggest earth’s broad domain (word painting)
• final chorus expands: opening melody; alternate b/t homorhythmic and imitative textures