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Forthcoming concerts
Franz Joseph Haydn
See ticket information for this concert at the Hub online booking office
Haydn’s tuneful oratorio Creation, composed between 1796 and 1798, was inspired by the oratorios of Handel which Haydn heard on two visits to England in the 1790s. The first work ever to have been published bilingually, in German and English, its eagerly awaited first public performance, in March 1799, was sold out weeks in advance and was an instant hit. It was performed some 40 times in Germany, England and further afield before the composer’s death in 1809, its US premiere finally happening in 1819.
The work – based on an English poem called "The Creation of the World" - tells the Genesis story, day-by-day, from the dawning of Light out of the darkness of Chaos, through to the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. There are fabulously colourful descriptions, musically as well as in the libretto, of the first whales, mammals, birds and fish – and, on the sixth day, of the first man and woman. The text draws on John Milton’s epic poem "Paradise Lost" alongside the biblical story, but the joins are seamless. Composed in a post Newton but pre-Darwin world, it reflects a simple but devout faith in God-created order.
The work is scored for soprano, tenor and bass soloists, a 120-strong classical orchestra and, at its first performance, some 60 singers. For its time, this represented a big, robust sound. On 30 May, to mark the bicentenary of the composer’s death, the 120-strong ERCU will be aiming to recreate the spirit of the original, but with even bigger choral resources.
The Creation
(sung in English)Franz Joseph Haydn
Saturday 30 May 2009 at 7 pm
St Cuthbert’s Church
Lothian Road, Edinburgh
See ticket information for this concert at the Hub online booking office
Haydn’s tuneful oratorio Creation, composed between 1796 and 1798, was inspired by the oratorios of Handel which Haydn heard on two visits to England in the 1790s. The first work ever to have been published bilingually, in German and English, its eagerly awaited first public performance, in March 1799, was sold out weeks in advance and was an instant hit. It was performed some 40 times in Germany, England and further afield before the composer’s death in 1809, its US premiere finally happening in 1819.
The work – based on an English poem called "The Creation of the World" - tells the Genesis story, day-by-day, from the dawning of Light out of the darkness of Chaos, through to the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. There are fabulously colourful descriptions, musically as well as in the libretto, of the first whales, mammals, birds and fish – and, on the sixth day, of the first man and woman. The text draws on John Milton’s epic poem "Paradise Lost" alongside the biblical story, but the joins are seamless. Composed in a post Newton but pre-Darwin world, it reflects a simple but devout faith in God-created order.
The work is scored for soprano, tenor and bass soloists, a 120-strong classical orchestra and, at its first performance, some 60 singers. For its time, this represented a big, robust sound. On 30 May, to mark the bicentenary of the composer’s death, the 120-strong ERCU will be aiming to recreate the spirit of the original, but with even bigger choral resources.
150th Anniversary - Gala Concert
Saturday 3 October 2009 at 7.30 pm
Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Tickets available from the Usher Hall box office in 2009.
World premiere of a new commission by Judith Bingham
Symphony No. 2, “Lobgesang” – Felix Mendelssohn
Conductor - Michael Bawtree
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Reviews of recent concerts
"spectacular", "real magic", "immaculate clarity"
"a performance that evoked the whole spectrum of human emotion, from terror to pure exultation".
Summer Choral Classics at St Ninian's Perth 10th May 2008
Bach's St John Passion at St Cuthbert's 15th March 2008
2008 Messiah at St Cuthberts (The Herald) 7th January 2008
Belshazzar's Feast (The Herald) 23rd April
Belshazzar's Feast (The Scotsman) 23rd April