"IT CAME FROM THERE"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 52, 21 June 1940, Page 9

"IT CAME FROM THERE"

How Haydn Wrote *The Creation"

ORN in a wheelwright’s cottage in a Lower Austrian village, Joseph Haydn stands in much the same relationship to the folk music of Croatia as Burns stands to the peasant songs of Scotland. All his life Haydn cheered people with his happy, simple peasant outlook: on life; yet he ‘was a man to whom great melodies and thunderously magnificent harmonies also came. While on a visit to London, Haydn heard some very fine performances of Handel’s music. When Handel’s "Hallelujah Chorus" resounded in Westminster Abbey, Haydn burst into tears and cried, "He is the master of us all!" He decided then and there to try his own hand at oratorio; and later accepted the idea of "The Creation" from Salomon, taking with him to Vienna a poem by Lidley, based on Milton’s "Paradise Lost,’ which had been intended in the first place for Handel. It has been recorded that during the period of composing "The Creation,’ Haydn felt himself swept by a great creative energy. Each day he knelt in prayer, and from his bended knees thanked God for giving him strength to write this music.

The First Performance There followed the first performance, held at Prince Schwarzenberg’s palace. The composer wrote later: "One moment I was as cold as ice, the next I seemed on fire. More than once I was afraid I should have a stroke." "The Creation" rapidly became such a_ success that Salomon threatened to sue Haydn for the theft of his idea. However, on reconsideration, he wisely decided to make money-for himself by presenting it in London, although a rival impresario named Ashley beat him by nearly a month. Some time after he had finished "The Creation," Haydn wrote another oratorio, "The Seasons." This seems to have exhausted him, for it was the last work of any magnitude that he wrote. When the Emperor Francis asked Haydn which he preferred of the two oratorios, the composer immediately named "The Creation." Asked for his reasons, he said: "Because, in "The Creation,’ angels speak and their talk is of God. In ‘The Seasons,’ no one higher speaks than Farmer Simon,"

His Perfect Exit Haydn’s last public appearance was at a performance of "The Creation" by the Society of Amateurs in Vienna. Then nearly 76 years old, the aged musician was carried into the hall of the University in his armchair. Trumpets, drums and loud applause greeted his entrance, and immediately he found about him the most distinguished members of the Austrian aristocracy. The performance was a wonderful one, and at the climax, on the words, "And there was light,’ the assembled throng broke into a sudden frenzy of cheers and applause. Haydn was greatly moved: Pointing upward, he cried: "It came from there." So intense became his excitement that it was deemed wise to carry him out after the first part. Demonstrations of affection were showered on him, and Beethoven stepped forward to kiss his hand and forehead. At the door, Haydn turned suddenly. He . lifted both hands slowly in a gesture of blessing. It was the perfect exit for the most beloved composer of his day. "The Creation,’ Haydn’s oratorio, will be featured in the Wellington Centennial Music Festival on Tuesday evening, June 25, and broadcast by 2YA.