Living on the Edge – “The Heavens Are Telling” from Haydn’s The Creation

On the Edge

Do you want to talk about living on the edge? “Few composers can boast on their curricula vitae,”  wrote R.J. Stove in Catholic World Report, “a deliberate and successful avoidance of gelding. Haydn could.”

Indeed he could. It was only through the timely and forceful intervention of his father that the young Haydn avoided joining the ranks of castrati before his voice changed. Stove cites this particular biographical detail to illustrate that Haydn’s life, and by extension his music, had some acquaintance with the sharp edges of his world. And yet, the composer who was honored, emulated, and imitated more than any other during his prime in the late 18th and early 19th century, and who was teacher, mentor, and friend to those two gigantic musical Bad Boys Mozart and Beethoven, has all too often over the past two centuries been dismissed for his lack of edginess.

No Cause for Shame

That verdict is more a judgment on the shallowness of our age than it is a true assessment of either the depth or power of Haydn’s music. Not to mention some of the sharper circumstances of his life. I started paying closer attention to Haydn after I ran across Stove’s article. Subsequently, Ifound his judgment confirmed by others. For one, this assessment of the composer by Richard Wigmore.

     It’s true that Haydn’s public persona was placid and genial, unlike the mercurial Mozart and the turbulent Beethoven. Additionally, much of his music sounds pleasing and inoffensive to the ear of the casual listener.  A closer study, however, reveals an inventiveness and feel for drama that gives him no cause to be ashamed in the company of his better-known pupils.

The Heavens are Telling

The Creation, an oratio first performed in Vienna in 1799, is perhaps Haydn’s greatest work. On a visit to London the composer experienced Handel’s oratorios for the first time. Naturally, he was eager to compose an oratorio of his own. For a great work he chose a grand subject: God’s creation of the universe. He built his composition around a libretto by Gottfried von Swieten. The text draws on Genesis, the Psalms, and John Milton’s epic of The Fall Paradise Lost. Within the bounds of an old, established genre the composer finds new ways to express the drama and wonder of creation.  

The excerpt below is a good introduction to Haydn’s magnum opus. It is from Part I, scene 4 of The Creation, a piece called “The Heavens are Telling.”  The text is based on Psalm 19, which begins “The Heavens are telling the Glory of God.”  The Academy of Ancient Music, with Christopher Hogwood conducting, performs the pioece in the clip below.

Psalm 19

¹ [For the choirmaster Psalm Of David] The heavens declare the glory of God, the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork,

² day discourses of it to day, night to night hands on the knowledge.

³ No utterance at all, no speech, not a sound to be heard,

⁴ but from the entire earth the design stands out, this message reaches the whole world. High above, he pitched a tent for the sun,

⁵ who comes forth from his pavilion like a bridegroom, delights like a champion in the course to be run.

⁶ Rising on the one horizon he runs his circuit to the other, and nothing can escape his heat.

⁷ The Law of Yahweh is perfect, refreshment to the soul; the decree of Yahweh is trustworthy, wisdom for the simple.

⁸ The precepts of Yahweh are honest, joy for the heart; the commandment of Yahweh is pure, light for the eyes.

⁹ The fear of Yahweh is pure, lasting for ever; the judgements of Yahweh are true, upright, every one,

¹⁰ more desirable than gold, even than the finest gold; his words are sweeter than honey, that drips from the comb.

¹¹ Thus your servant is formed by them; observing them brings great reward.

¹² But who can detect his own failings? Wash away my hidden faults.

¹³ And from pride preserve your servant, never let it be my master. So shall I be above reproach, free from grave sin.

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth always find favour, and the whispering of my heart, in your presence, Yahweh, my rock, my redeemer.