When Franz Josef Haydn composed his oratorio celebrating the Creation, he must have been motivated by the same awe that inspired the psalmist who exclaimed, "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:3-4.)
That sense of awe was captured by the Temple Square Chorale with the Orchestra at Temple Square Chamber Ensemble. Under the direction of Mack Wilberg, they performed Haydn's "The Creation" before appreciative audiences at the Libby Gardner Hall on the University of Utah campus Feb. 28 and again the following evening at the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
"We children of the 21st century contemplate a far different universe from the one understood by Josef Haydn and his contemporaries at the close of the 18th Century, when the telescope (invented in the 17th century) had barely penetrated the heavens as we know them today," wrote Roger Miller in program notes for the concert. Yet, many have found their faith illuminated by "cosmological speculations unlocked" by scientific discoveries, he added. "Perhaps we should allow [Haydn's] music to open our eyes to the miracles of creation that surround us with ever increasing wonder."
Based upon the Genesis account and John Milton's Paradise Lost, the oratorio is structured in three parts divided into seven segments each covering one "day" in the creation of the world and combining a recitative, aria and chorus.
The story is narrated by three soloists in the role of the angels Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael. For the Feb. 28 and March 1 performances, three accomplished soloists filled the roles of the angels: soprano Sharla Nafziger as Gabriel, tenor Robert Breault as Uriel and bass Clayton Brainerd as Raphael.
For the finale in Part III, Adam and Eve appear in the garden paradise, with those roles sung in this performance by soprano Erin Palmer and baritone Michael Chipman.
These closing lines sung by the chorus capsulize in reverent praise the feeling evoked by the work:
Sing the Lord, ye voices all,
Magnify his name thro' all creation;
Celebrate his power and glory;
Let his name resound on high.
Praise the Lord. Utter thanks.
Jehovah's praise for ever shall endure. Amen.
E-mail: rscott@desnews.com
