HARMONIC CONCERT

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33155, 20 February 1973, Page 10

HARMONIC CONCERT

A performance of Haydn’s “Creation” in! the Town Hall on Thurs-j day will open the year’s' subscription concert | series by the Christ-1 church Harmonic So-! ciety choir. The first public performance of this work was in I the Burg Theatre on March ! 19, 1799. On the poster advertising the event Haydn re- ; quested the audience to refrain from asking for 1 encores, so that the unity of the work would not be destroyed. The work is based on the account of the Creation as related in the Book of Genesis, and is written for soloists, chorus and orchestra. Haydn has used the tra- ! ditional oratorio form of choruses, accompanied recita-! fives, and arias to maintain the thread of the narrative and to complement the mood and feeling of the various situations and incidents. Haydn’s resourcefulness and brilliance in matching the music to the text is evident throughout the work. Touches of humour accompany some . of the description of nature, and some of the arias have a ■ simple folk-song quality, with the beauty and strength that was Haydn’s greatest asset. The "Creation” has the same joyous approach to God as Haydn’s masses reveal, and the same happy interweaving of solo and chorus parts. The soloists will be Kathleen Johnson, soprano; Pamela Coote. contralto; Anthony Benfell, tenor; and Charles Naylor, bass. The work will be conducted by William Hawkey and the Christchurch Civic Orchestra will accompany the choir.