It’s been a long wait for Steven Edwards and the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, but their performance of Franz Joseph Haydn’s “The Creation” oratorio is finally going to happen.
The long-awaited presentation of what is considered one of Haydn’s greatest masterpieces is scheduled for Sunday (March 27) at Temple Sinai in uptown New Orleans. Originally slated for March 2020, the concert was called off just two weeks before its performance date because of the COVID-19 lockdown mandate.
“We were happy to be back with ‘Messiah’ (which was performed this past December), but this will be two in a row now. So we’re hoping that we are actually back for good,” said Edwards, SCNO’s music director since 1990.
Composed in the late 1790s, “The Creation” closely parallels the oratorio format pioneered earlier in that century by Handel, whom Haydn greatly admired.
The piece, when performed in its entirety, calls for a chorus and full orchestra featuring soprano, tenor and bass vocalists singing solos, duets and recitatives.
The performance on Sunday will cut about 10 minutes from the original work and will be roughly two hours long with an intermission. The soloists are soprano Joy Meade, tenor Robert Wagner and Temple Sinai cantor Joel Colman, bass. The libretto was written in German and English but will be sung in English here.
“What’s interesting for me is the connection between Haydn and Beethoven,” Edwards said. “The work was performed many times in Vienna (in German) during the last 10 years of Haydn’s life, and Beethoven was there for almost every performance. It is widely believed to have influenced Beethoven, whose greatest symphonies and other works were written after seeing ‘The Creation.’”
Classic libretto
The oratorio’s libretto is a combination of the biblical books of “Genesis” and “Psalms” and John Milton’s epic poem, “Paradise Lost,” published in 1667.
The 60-member SCNO, with Edwards conducting, will be backed by a 24-piece ensemble of strings, winds, horns and timpani played by musicians from the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.
Symphony Chorus of New Orleans singers rehearse at St. Matthew United Church on S. Carrolton Avenue in New Orleans on Tuesday, November 30, 2021. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
“I think ‘The Creation’ is one of the most delightful pieces in the classical repertoire. I can’t wait to finally get up there and conduct it,” Edwards said.
Meade, a former voice professor at Xavier University of New Orleans, has been rehearsing diligently for her maiden voyage with the work.
“It’s been a lot of fun to prepare for,” Meade said. “It’s definitely been on my list of things I’ve been wanting to do and I’m so happy to have the opportunity.”
Practice and attention
Noting the issues of a libretto written in two languages, Meade said, “It’s definitely been challenging in places.
"There are some long, florid phrases that you have to manage and work into the voice. And there are some places where the English translation presents some difficulties with the way the German was set. But with practice and close attention it all starts to line up.”
Having two years to prepare has given Meade an opportunity to explore the piece in greater detail.
“Spending more time with it through the pandemic has allowed me to gain more insights into it," she said. "I’m really enjoying the joyousness and majesty of 'Creation,' when everything was pure and pristine. A really skilled composer like Haydn can bring that to life musically in a way that allows us to experience it for ourselves.”
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HAYDN'S 'THE CREATION'
WHO: Symphony Chorus of New Orleans with guest vocalists and members of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday (March 27)
WHERE: Temple Sinai, 6227 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans
TICKETS: $25-$75. $20 students and groups. Brown Paper Tickets
INFO: (504) 525-2111. SymphonyChorus.org or sce@symphonychorus.org
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March 21, 2022 at 04:00PM
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Present at 'The Creation': The Symphony Chorus is ready to sing again after pandemic delays - NOLA.com
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