Haydn: “The Creation” Music of the Baroque reviewed by Julia W. Rath

**** The opening of the 54th Music of the Baroque season began with Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation.” The MOB orchestra and chorus, conducted by Dame Jane Glover, charmed the audience in a light and easy-going performance at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, in Skokie. The anonymously written libretto is in English, something which Haydn brought back in 1795 from his travels to London. It served as inspiration for his musical composition, written in 1797 and 1798.

“The Creation” celebrates the Book of Genesis and its account of God’s creation of the world. It is made up of three parts: Part I begins with “The Representation of Chaos”, followed by Days One through Four. Part II is comprised of Days Five and Six, and Part III is made up of “Adam and Eve in Eden.” The concert stars soloists Joélle Harvey (soprano), Aaron Sheehan (tenor), and Brandon Cedel (baritone), who portray the archangels Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael, respectively. Later, in Part III, the figures of Adam and Eve are depicted by Cedel and Harvey. The male soloists were dressed all in black, each wearing a black suit and black shirt. Harvey wore a lovely light blue gown which constantly sparkled.

The soloists provided a well-balanced performance. Sheehan does a respectable job throughout. Harvey shines the most when crafting her coloratura, especially during the Recitative and Air section towards the beginning of the Fifth Day. The trilling was so lovely that the audience could not hold back its applause. Cedel only gets better and better as the concert goes on. When he’s not holding back, he is truly amazing! By the time he becomes Adam, he has unleashed his powerful vocals. My favorite part of the program, however, was when he sang at the end of the Sixth Day about the creation of the creepy, crawly creatures. The audience couldn’t hold back a laugh (followed by applause) when he sang with deep resonance more than once about the worm.

The Chaos at the onset is not as chaotic as one might imagine. It is an all-instrumental section that ends with a lovely flute solo by Mary Stolper, who executes marvelous solos throughout. The First Day features, among other things, the lively chorus, with a fortissimo at the end of the phrase “There was light.” During the Third Day, Stolper is joined by oboist Anne Bach in mimicking the sounds of the silver brook. The chorus does a smashing job at the end of the Third Day in building and blending rival melody lines into a concrete whole. The Fourth Day features Andrew Rosenblum’s tremendous harpsichord opening. This is followed by triumphant timpani (Douglas Waddell) and bass (Collins Trier) intercalated between Harvey’s two Uriel recitatives. She is then backed by cello (Ana Kim) and strings. Then we get to the trio section where Harvey, Sheehan, and Cedel sing together for the first time, blending their voices nicely, just before the chorus comes in—building up to the fabulous end of Part II and the end of the first half of the concert.

The second half opens with Part II and the Fifth Day. Clarinet (Zachary Good) and bass (Trier) represent the lark and tender doves. The nightingale’s song is represented by the flute (Stolper), and we hear Harvey’s coloratura once again. The harpsichord (Rosenblum) represents the harps being struck by angels, while the strings and French horn (Oto Carrillo) put an exclamation point on the wonders of this day. We also have the “restless throngs” and the Leviathan in the ocean, as depicted by Cedel’s bass. Voice and instruments all build in volume. And on the Sixth Day, the sound of the bassoon (William Buchman) represents the cattle, and the pizzicato of the violins represents the sheep. Of course, the climax is the creation of a man “the king of nature’s realm” again as defined by the bassoon (Buchanan) followed by the creation of a woman. Her joyful bliss is represented by the cello (Kim) and viola (Terri Van Valkinburgh).

In Part III, we see the Adam and Eve and their happiness as a couple. Trumpets announce them blessed of God. A few smiles burst out among the audience when the soloists sang of traditional sex roles, such as Eve singing to Adam “Thy will to me is law. So has the Lord ordained, to yield obedience with willing heart is my glory and my pride.” A slightly audible titter broke out among some listeners just before Harvey hit her high note on the word “glory.”

In addition to conducting the orchestra, Glover briefly plays some runs on the forte piano. This is towards the tail end of the performance, and all the while, her score is located atop the instrument. Just before the last chorus, the mezzo soprano steps forward so that there are four soloists on stage during the finale. And, of course, chorus director Andrew Megill is brought out afterwards to take his bows in addition to those of all the performers.

If one could find a thesis statement from the libretto about the concert, it is this: “Now chaos ends, and order doth prevail.” Music is considered one important part of God’s created order, and its purpose is considered holy. In today’s concert, MOB has done justice to this in both instrument and voice. Not only is the music and the singing meaningful but also outstanding!

Haydn – “The Creation” was performed by The Music of the Baroque Orchestra and Chorus on Sunday, September 15, 2024 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 N. Skokie Boulevard, in Skokie, at 3:00 p.m.

This was followed by a performance on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at the Harris Theatre, in Millennium Park, 205 W. Randolph Drive, in Chicago, at 7:30 p.m.

Live performance tickets ranged from $43 to $108.

On Friday, September 20, 2024, on demand performances, begin at 5:00 p.m. These are available from September 20th to October 20th.
On-demand tickets are $18 plus a $3 handling fee.

For more information about this concert and to purchase tickets, visit:
https://www.baroque.org/Seasons/2024-2025/the-creation.

For more information about future performances of Music of the Baroque, including times, dates, and locations, please go to: https://www.baroque.org/.

Music of the Baroque is a resident company of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. To learn more about the venue, their future offerings, and ticket prices, visit: https://northshorecenter.org/.

To learn more about the Harris Theater, their future offerings, and ticket prices, go to: https://www.harristheaterchicago.org/.