Macclesfield Symphony Orchestra

The Creation was the second of Haydn’s oratorios, the first being The Seven Last Words of Christ composed in 1786 as an orchestral work and then adapted in 1796 as an oratorio for soloist and chorus.

Haydn began composing The Creation in the autumn of 1796 and completed it in the spring of 1798. The German version, directed by Haydn himself, was first performed on April 30, 1798 for a private audience in the Vienna palace of Count Schwartzenberg. The performance received an ecstatic reception among aristocratic circles, resulting in two additional performances on May 7 and 10.

The first public performance was given at the Burgtheater on March 19, 1799 – nearly a year after the first performances. The Burgtheater performance was on a much grander scale, with 180 performers on stage (probably 120 instrumentalists and 60 singers). The resounding success of these performances convinced Haydn to publish the work himself. The February 1800 publication of the score in both German and English made it the first large-scale musical work published in two languages.

The Creation is regarded by many as one of Haydn’s very finest compositions.