Haydn: Die Schopfung (The Creation)

Haydn: Die Schopfung (The Creation)

Haydn: Die Schopfung (The Creation)
List Price: $27.98
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Listen soundtracks from this album


Buy Haydn: Die Schopfung (The Creation) at Amazon.com
(Click here)
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

CD Details

Composer: Haydn
Conductor: Jacobs
Orchestra: Freiburger Barockorchester
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import, Limited Edition
CD Release Date: 2009-11-10
Music Label: Harmonia Mundi

Music reviews of Haydn: Die Schopfung (The Creation)

Music Review: Gutsy, Vivid Performance
Rating: 5 Stars

On its own, I must admit that Haydn's Die Schoepfung has never been one of my all-time favorites of classical western music. Part of the reason is the lack of recordings of Die Schoepfung that have that "X-factor." The closest candidate was recording by Christoph Spering for the Naxos label with Hanno Mueller-Brachman and Sunhae Im (a favorite of mine who often performs under Rene Jacobs' baton).

Die Schoepfung is one of the best examples of tone-painting. Papa Haydn wrote out musical representations of nature: rolling waves, chirping birds, gliding whales, the rays of the sun, etc. I suppose the X-factor that has been been missing from past recordings was the ability to portray such things convincingly.

As a conductor, Rene Jacobs has rarely failed to impress me. In his operatic recordings he has been successful at bringing out such varied emotional extremes, such that in an immensely "illustrative" work as Die Schoepfung, I had high expectations. I'm happy to say that he has met those expectations. Jacobs really brings out the winds during representation of the first beams of light, represented by Haydn in a simple yet stunning wide chord in triple forte. The first baritone aria where Johannes Weisser describes the rolling, foaming billows of water as God creates the sky is at once unrelenting and violent, then tranquil as Jacobs takes control of Haydn's representation of a calming sea storm.

For me, the standout singer is Johannes Weisser who has already impressively sung the title role in Jacobs's Don Giovanni. We have him here doubling as the angel Raphael and as Adam. Many listeners were taken off-guard (pleasantly or unpleasantly) but his young sounding voice - he was in his mid-twenties when he sang the Don (a casting choice which I personally thought made perfect sense.) In Die Schoepfung we find Weisser's voice much matured with a smooth and full-lower register which is so necessary in his role of the angel Raphael.

This is also the first time I've ever heard of Julia Kleiter, singing the roles of Gabriel and Eve. It is a gorgeous, strong voice that I hope Jacobs will employ in upcoming recordings.

Ever since Jacobs' Cosi Fan Tutte his signature has been his employment of a heavily improvising continuo section, and ever since his La Clemenza di Tito, there have been sections during which the fortepiano adds some lengthy improvisations to introduce recitatives. True, many may find this practice distracting, even a hindrance to the drama. Perhaps it takes a few listenings to understand it, although evidence for such a practice extending from the Baroque to late Classical is strong, especially in the music of Haendel and Mozart. It begins to sound so natural, it becomes difficult to imagine Baroque and Classical performance of recitative without such improv.

The widely varied dynamics in the orchestra and choir are ever present as always for a Rene Jacobs recording, and so much the better. Perhaps part of that "X-Factor" is that in an oratorio such as this, the orchestra and chorus must present their music in such a way as a narrator or actor delivers his/her lines. Drama is paramaount here.

This is a Die Schoepfung I will be returning to often, while Spering's Die Schoepfung is a close second.

Description of Haydn: Die Schopfung (The Creation)

Rene Jacobs offers a new, definitive version of Haydn's masterpiece, Die Shopfung (The Creation) as his contribution to the celebration of the bicentenary of Haydn's death. Haydn's first public performance in 1799 was a huge triumph and the work was immediately repeated twice.

General CDs

Music Genres
Bestsellers in General CDs
Debussy: Clair de lune & Other Piano Favourites ImageDebussy: Clair de lune & Other Piano Favourites
Release date: 2004-05-18; Music CD
Best price: $5.59
Price in other shops: $8.99
My Christmas ImageAndrea Bocelli - My Christmas
Andrea; Release date: 2009-11-03; Music CD
Best price: $7.21
Price in other shops: $18.98
The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe ImageThe Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe
Release date: 2003-04-08; Music CD
Best price: $6.54
Price in other shops: $11.98
Bach: The 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites ImageBach: The 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites
Sony; Release date: 2006-06-06; Music CD
Best price: $10.60
Price in other shops: $15.99
The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere ImageAndrea Bocelli - The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere
Andrea; Release date: 2007-10-30; Music CD
Best price: $8.48
Price in other shops: $18.98
Andrea Bocelli: Vivere - Live in Tuscany [Blu-ray] ImageAndrea Bocelli: Vivere - Live in Tuscany [Blu-ray]
Andrea; Release date: 2009-06-02; DVD
Best price: $17.50
Price in other shops: $34.98
Mendelssohn: Piano Trios Op 49 Op 66 ImageYo-Yo Ma - Mendelssohn: Piano Trios Op 49 Op 66
Release date: 2010-02-02; Music CD
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops: $13.98
An Evening With Il Divo-Live In Barcelona (CD/DVD) ImageIl Divo - An Evening With Il Divo-Live In Barcelona (CD/ DVD)
Release date: 2009-12-01; Music CD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops: $18.98
David Garrett ImageDavid Garrett - David Garrett
GARRETT,DAVID; Release date: 2009-06-02; Music CD
Best price: $6.64
Price in other shops: $13.98
The Canadian Tenors ImageThe Canadian Tenors - The Canadian Tenors
Release date: 2009-10-26; Music CD
Best price: $10.94
Price in other shops: $16.98
Similar CDs
The Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2010 ImageThe Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2010
by James Jolly
Gramophone Publications; Published: 2009-09-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.84
Price in other shops: $34.95
Between Heaven & Earth ImageSandrine Piau - Between Heaven & Earth
Release date: 2009-09-29; Music CD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: $17.98
The Well-Tempered Clavier I ImageThe Well-Tempered Clavier I
Bach; Release date: 2009-11-17; Music CD
Best price: $15.04
Price in other shops: $24.98
Handel: Furore - Mad Scenes From Operas ImageHandel: Furore - Mad Scenes From Operas
Release date: 2009-01-13; Music CD
Best price: $10.99
Price in other shops: $16.98
Colbran, the Muse ImageColbran, the Muse
Release date: 2009-10-06; Music CD
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops: $16.98
Bach Cantatas Vol. 17 ImageBach Cantatas Vol. 17
Release date: 2009-08-11; Music CD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: $19.98
Cecilia Bartoli: Sacrificium ImageCecilia Bartoli - Cecilia Bartoli: Sacrificium
Release date: 2009-10-26; Music CD
Best price: $16.09
Price in other shops: $24.98
Schubert: Winterreise ImageMark Padmore, Paul Lewis - Schubert: Winterreise
Release date: 2009-09-08; Music CD
Best price: $15.40
Price in other shops: $19.98
Bach: Six Partitas ImageAndras Schiff - Bach: Six Partitas
Bach; Release date: 2009-08-25; Music CD
Best price: $22.05
Price in other shops: $29.98
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24 ImageMitsuko Uchida - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24
UCHIDA,MITSUKO; Release date: 2009-09-08; Music CD
Best price: $10.16
Price in other shops: $16.98
Compare prices and find music notes for more than one million Music CD titles