Haydn – The Creation part 5
[ March 27th, 2009 | No Comments » | by Jason Andrews ]
Immediately following the climax of the piece is Adam and Eve realizing their duty upon the Earth and what God has intended them to do. They pledge their obedience to the Lord and are happy to do so. Still, though, they disobey their god. Haydn expresses their mischievousness through playful violins on sixteenth notes. Yet, although they had not been as loyal as they had told their Lord this number is consistently pleasant sounding in a major key. It is not until Uriel’s recite in number thirty-two does the realization of what Adam and Eve had done hits the audience. However, this recite is short and followed up by the chorus in a glorious prayer exclaiming, “Let His name resound on high. Jehovah’s praise for ever shall endure. Amen.”
“So far as genius can exist in a man who is merely virtuous, Haydn had it. He went as far as the limits that morality sets to the intellect,” said Friedrich Nietzsche in 1878 (Wagner). This statement could not be truer. Haydn had set the standard for much of the music in the Classical Era, but also he had gone past that, years into the future creating techniques that were rarely duplicated until far after his death. “The Creation” is a testament to that and a prime example of the sheer genius of Franz Joseph Haydn.
Works Cited
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Brainy Quote. Brainy Quote. Nov 2007
Carter, Michael. “Haydn.” Classical Hall of Fame. Fanfare. Vol 27, No 3. January/Febuary 2004.
Driscoll, James F. “St. Raphael.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol 12. Nov 2007.
Haydn, Franz Joseph. The Creation.
Haydn, Franz Joseph. The Creation. Perf. Dawn Upshaw, Jon Humphrey, John Cheek, Heidi Grant Murphy, and James Michael McGuire. Atlanta Symphony Orchetra and Chamber Chorus. Cond. Robert Shaw. Telarc. 1992.
The Holy Bible, King James Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1999.
Schechter, Solomon, Ludwig Blau, and Emil G. Hirsch. “Gabriel.” Jewish Encyclopedia. Nov 2007
Singer, Isidore, Ludwig Blau. “Uriel.” Jewish Encyclopedia. Nov 2007
Wagner, Paul ed. “The Creation.” Joseph Haydn. Nov 2007