Programme:
Joseph Haydn: The Creation, oratorio for solo voices, mixed chorus, and orchestra

Cast:
Nicola Proksch – soprano
Eric Stoklossa – tenor
Bernhard Hansky – bass
Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno
Petr Fiala – Choirmaster
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Václav Luks – Conductor

The prominent specialist in old music Václav Luks is not performing here with his famous ensemble Collegium 1704 as usual; instead he is showcasing Haydn’s vivid Classical oratorio The Creation with the JPO, the Czech Philharmonic Choir and some of the finest Czech vocal performers. The bass part will be presented by the Bernhard Hansky from the Semperoper Dresden.
Haydn never sought to express his personal problems in music; he wanted it to be beautiful and uplifting in all respects. The Creation is his artistic and human testament. The idea originated during his travels in Britain, under the influence of the monumental performances of Händel’s oratorios, often performed by choirs of hundreds of singers.
At the end of his creative career, Haydn produced a surprisingly eccentric, colourful fresco and an unrestrained libretto which was a rewriting of an English original by an unknown author, with added passages from the book of Genesis, Psalms, and Milton’s Paradise Lost. The demanding task of joining this all together was eventually precisely managed by the amateur musician Baron Gottfried van Swieten, the imperial librarian and adviser, and a friend of all three Viennese classics: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.