Joseph Haydn - The Creation

Joseph Haydn: The Creation Hob. XXI:2
Oratorio in three parts
Text by Gottfried van Swieten
sung in German

Elisabeth Wimmer, soprano
Johannes Bamberger, tenor
Stefan Zenkl, bass
Chorus sine nomine
L’Orfeo Barockorchester
Johannes Hiemetsberger, direction

The oratorio “The Creation” represents not only a crucial point in Joseph Haydn‘s compositional output, but at the same time, marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the oratorio. At the turn of the 19th century, Haydn broke with the traditional dominance of the arias, giving the chorus a distinctly greater significance. This opened the way for a new kind of choral oratorio which became one of the standard features of developing bourgeois concert life.