Daniel Harding / Haydn: The Creation

Daniel Harding conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Franz Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Creation.

Composed between 1796 and 1798, the oratorio takes as its theme the Creation of the world, written in the books of Genesis, the Psalms, and John Milton's poem Paradise Lost, in which Haydn expresses his serene and torment-free religious sentiment. First performed in Vienna in 1798 at the Schwarzenberg Palace with Antonio Salieri on the harpsichord for a private audience of nobles, who commissioned it, the oratorio was subsequently given its first public performance in 1799 at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna. This premiere was a great success, and the composition was frequently revived during Haydn's final years.

In the opera, from the mysterious darkness of the initial Chaos, we see light dawn, plants sprout, fish swim, and birds fly, all the way to Adam and Eve's love song in the Garden of Eden. Daniel Harding, along with an exceptional vocal cast, conducts this hymn to life, an experience of pure beauty that makes us feel like we're witnessing a miracle.

National Academy of Santa Cecilia - Symphonic Music Season - Auditorium Parco della Musica – Rome.

Orchestra and Chorus of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia

Conductor: Daniel Harding

Soprano: Katharina Konradi

Tenor: Joshua Ellicott

Bass: Michael Nagy

Chorusmaster: Sam Evans

Photo: the Auditorium Parco della Musica official site