Haydn’s Creation

Aug 5

And now for some selections from Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn’s (1732 – 1809) oratorio, The Creation. The lyrics for this massive work were inspired by John Milton’s Paradise Lost, an epic poem about the Biblical account of the creation of man and woman. Some of the lyrics for Haydn’s music also are taken from the Bible. Haydn chose to have his oratorio narrated by three angels (Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael), of whom we hear two in this first 11 1/2-minute selection.

Haydn’s wit and good humor can be heard in this 11 1/2-minute selection. He was not above a bit of mischief, so be prepared, as heard on the word “Light.”

No. 1: Overture: representation of chaos

No. 2: Recitative and Chorus

RAPHAEL

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void. And darkness was upon the face of the deep.

CHORUS

And the Spirit of God moved

Upon the face of the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light;”

And there was light.

URIEL

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

No. 3: Aria and Chorus

URIEL

Now vanish before the holy beams

the gloomy, dismal shades of darkness;

the first of days appears!

Disorder yields and order fair prevails.

Affrighted fly hell’s spirits, black in throngs;

down they sink in the deepest abyss to endless night.

CHORUS

Despairing, cursing rage

attends their rapid fall.

A new-created world

springs up at God’s command.

Edward Wolfe

Edward Wolfe has been a fan of Christian apologetics since his teenage years, when he began seriously to question the truth of the Bible and the reality of Jesus. About twenty years ago, he started noticing that Christian evidences roughly fell into five categories, the five featured on this website.
Although much of his professional life has been in Christian circles (12 years on the faculties of Pacific Christian College, now a part of Hope International University, and Manhattan Christian College and also 12 years at First Christian Church of Tempe), much of his professional life has been in public institutions (4 years at the University of Colorado and 19 years at Tempe Preparatory Academy).
His formal academic preparation has been in the field of music. His bachelor degree was in Church Music with a minor in Bible where he studied with Roger Koerner, Sue Magnusson, Russel Squire, and John Rowe; his master’s was in Choral Conducting where he studied with Howard Swan, Gordon Paine, and Roger Ardrey; and his doctorate was in Piano Performance, Pedagogy, and Literature, where he also studied group dynamics, humanistic psychology, and Gestalt theory with Guy Duckworth.
He and his wife Louise have four grown children and six grandchildren.

https://WolfeMusicEd.com

Haydn’s Creation

Debussy's "The Engulfed Cathedral"

Handel's "Comfort Ye" and "Every Valley"

Edward Wolfe