3.Haydn prog2 | Canterbury Music Club

Sunday 9^th November 2025

3.00 pm

Runtime: 120 minutes

Colyer-Fergusson Hall

The Gulbenkian Arts Centre

University of Kent

Haydn “The Creation”

Amici Choir and Orchestra

Soloists

Director: Grenville Hancox

Soprano: Tamar File - Archangel Gabriel

Tenor: Greg Tassell - Archangel Uriel

Bass: Matthew Rose - Archangel Raphael

Synopsis

PART ONE depicts the emergence of divine light, the vast firmament of heaven, radiant celestial bodies, surging waters below, atmospheric wonders, and the first flowering of Earth.

PART TWO reveals the teeming waters filled with sea creatures, birds soaring through the air, and the Earth's animals, culminating in the creation of Adam.

PART THREE depicts Adam and Eve in their blissful union in the Garden of Eden, ending with a joyful chorus that celebrates their love.

Programme Note

Courtesy of John Bawden ©

The Creation- Franz Joseph Haydn(1732-1809)

Haydn witnessed many radical changes in music during the course of his long life. He was eighteen when Bach died in 1750, not long before the close of the Baroque era, and seventy-two when Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony was first performed in 1804, ushering in the Romantic period. Old forms of music were superseded by the symphony, sonata and string quartet, patronage moved from the church to the royal court, and public concerts were rapidly becoming immensely popular. Throughout all these changes, Haydn remained a pioneering figure. Other composers had written symphonies, sonatas, and string quartets before him, but it was Haydn who first exploited the untapped potential of these forms, expanding and developing them to a hitherto unimagined degree.

The oratorio as a musical form appeared briefly in seventeenth century Italy but was soon eclipsed by the much more popular operas. It was Handel who resurrected the oratorio from obscurity, transforming it from little more than an extended cantata into a powerful choral music-drama that was soon to dominate public music-making in eighteenth and nineteenth century England. During his first visit to London, Haydn attended one of the great Handel festivals held in Westminster Abbey and was completely overwhelmed by the experience, as a result of which he resolved to write an oratorio himself that would be worthy of Handel’s supreme examples. In 1796, inspired by what he had heard whilst in London, Haydn set to work on the score, which was not completed until 1798, by which time he was sixty-six. ‘I was never so devout as during that time when I was working on The Creation’ he observed. The work received its first public performance in 1799 and was immediately recognised as a supreme masterpiece, receiving many performances all over Europe.

In common with opera, and like most oratorios – though not Messiah- The Creation has named characters and is divided into acts and scenes. These consist of sequences of choruses, recitatives, and arias. The work begins with an extended orchestral introduction, ‘Representation of Chaos’. Parts One and Two then describe the six days of Creation, each of which follows a threefold pattern comprising biblical narrative, descriptive central section, and hymn of praise. The three soloists represent the Archangels Gabriel (soprano), Uriel (tenor), and Raphael (bass), with the chorus fulfilling an important role portraying angels glorifying their maker. Part Three is devoted entirely to the appearance of Adam and Eve (bass and soprano) who sing of the wonder and perfection of God’s newly created world and of their happiness together. Soloists and choir combine for the final uplifting chorus of praise (only the Final Chorus of Part Three will be included in this performance).

The Creation represents a considerable dramatic development over its Handelian predecessors. Haydn’s bold use of orchestral colour, his adventurous harmony, exceptional rhythmic and melodic inventiveness, and the work’s strong overall unity bring the subject to life with an almost operatic vividness and power. The opening is a good illustration of Haydn’s innovative approach. The extended orchestral introduction, itself a departure from the conventional overture, is entitled ‘Representation of Chaos’ and immediately arrests the listener’s attention with its shifting, ambiguous harmonies on muted strings, brass, and timpani. In the ensuing recitative Raphael tells us that ‘the earth was without form, and void’ and this is reflected in the sparse emptiness of the orchestral accompaniment. The choir continues in a mood of hushed stillness, until ‘and there was light’, at which point there is a sudden, massive fortissimo chord of C major from the now unmuted full orchestra. Even after two hundred years the effect is still immensely powerful. It was evidently totally overwhelming at the time, judging by the following account from one of Haydn’s friends ‘. . . and at that moment when light broke out for the first time, one would have said that rays darted from the composer’s burning eyes. The enchantment of the electrified Viennese was so general that the orchestra could not proceed for some minutes,’ he wrote.

This is perhaps the most startling dramatic gesture of the whole work, but there are plenty of other equally effective instances of musical word-painting, such as the storm scenes, the wonderful sunrise music and the colourful depiction of various animals and birds. It is also worth drawing attention to Haydn’s musical characterisation. For the angels he adopts a somewhat florid, lofty style, whilst for Adam and Eve the writing is simpler and more folk-like. In fact the whole work sparkles with the vitality and unfailing inspiration so characteristic of this remarkable composer, who was still experimenting and still surprising his delighted audiences right up to the end of his life.

[For more musicology please see Wikipedia The Creation (Haydn)]

Haydn “The Creation”

Detailed Programme

PART ONE depicts the emergence of divine light, the vast firmament of heaven, radiant celestial bodies, surging waters below, atmospheric wonders, and the first flowering of Earth.

1. Overture -The Representation of Chaos (orchestral)

DAY ONE

Recitative - Raphael and chorus: In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth; and the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep

CHORUS: And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters; and God said: “Let there be Light”, and there was Light

2. Aria (Uriel) and chorus: Now vanish before the holy beams

CHORUS: Despairing, cursing rage attends their rapid fall. A new-created world springs up at God’s command

DAY TWO

3. Recitative (Raphael): And God made the firmament

4. Aria (Gabriel) and chorus: The marv’lous work beholds amaz’d

CHORUS: And to the ethereal vaults resounds the praise of God

DAY THREE

5. Recitative (Raphael): And God said: “Let the waters under the heaven”

6. Aria (Raphael): Rolling in foaming billows

7. Recitative (Gabriel): And God said: “Let the earth bring forth grass”

8. Aria (Gabriel): With verdure clad the fields appear

9. Recitative (Uriel): And the heavenly host proclaimed

10. CHORUS: Awake the harp

DAY FOUR

11. Recitative (Uriel): And God said: “Let there be lights”

12. Recitative (Uriel): In splendour bright is rising now the sun

13. CHORUS with soloists: The heavens are telling the glory of God

PART TWO reveals the teeming waters filled with sea creatures, birds soaring through the air, and the Earth's animals, culminating in the creation of Adam.

DAY FIVE

14. Recitative (Gabriel): And God said: “Let the waters bring forth”

15. Aria (Gabriel): On mighty pens uplifted soars

16. Recitative (Raphael): And God created great whales

17. Recitative (Raphael): And the angels struck their immortal harps

18. Trio: Most beautiful appear

CHORUS with soloists: The Lord is great

19. Recitative (Raphael): And God said: “Let the earth bring forth”

DAY SIX

20. Recitative (Raphael): Straight opening fertile womb

21. Aria (Raphael): Now heaven in fullest glory

22. Recitative (Uriel): And God created man in his own image

23. Aria (Uriel): In native worth and honour clad

24. Recitative (Raphael): And God saw everything that he had made

25. CHORUS: Achieved is the glorious work

Trio: On thee each living soul awaits

CHORUS: Achieved is the glorious work

PART THREE depicts Adam and Eve in their blissful union in the Garden of Eden, ending with a joyful chorus that celebrates their love.

DAY SEVEN

31. Final CHORUS with soloists: Sing the Lord ye voices all! Utter, utter thanks all ye his works, Celebrate his power & glory, let his name resound on high!

Biographies

Director

Grenville Hancox has enjoyed a long career in music and music education culminating in the Chair of Music at Canterbury Christ Church University. His belief in the centrality of music for a healthy and stable society led to research into the perceived benefits of choral singing, the co-founding of the Sidney de Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health and following leaving the university the creation of The Canterbury Cantata Trust (CCT) with its strap line of Caring through Singing. Grenville was the recipient of civic awards from The City of Canterbury and Folkestone Town Mayor together with an MBE for services to music. He is honorary president of CCT, of Dover Choral Society and an ambassador for Kent and Medway Young Artists Trust. Today’s performance marks his departure as director of the Amici Chorus, one of the constituent parts of the CCT.

Soloists

Tamar File - Soprano

Tam holds an honours degree in music from The London College of Music where she studied voice with Pamela Bowden and piano with the late Raenelda Mackie.

She has performed regularly in London and the South-East, singing solos in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Magnificat, Handel's Messiah and Acis and Galatea, Haydn's Nelson Mass and The Creation, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Mozart's Requiem and Solemn Vespers, Rutter's Magnificat. and a variety of solo roles in Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas.

One of Tam’s ongoing musical partnerships is with Tony Halstead, piano, performing concert recitals of both well-known and obscure music. She also had a ten year musical partnership with the late pianist and composer John Hurd.

Alongside singing, Tam is a proud full time Mum to her two sons.

Greg Tassell – tenor

Greg was brought up on a hop farm near Tunbridge Wells and was a chorister at Durham Cathedral. After studying music at Exeter University and the Royal Academy of Music he joined English Touring Opera for three seasons and was part of their award-winning sensory opera Midnight Moon in 2011. Greg has travelled widely around Europe most notably appearing on Polish radio as evangelist in Bach’s St John Passion and on the Israeli operatic stage in Purcell’s Fairy Queen. He now teaches singing at St Edmund’s School Canterbury and privately in Broadstairs whilst still performing in professional concerts around the UK.

Greg recently sang the title role in Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius for the first time and future concerts include Britten Canticle II ‘Abraham and Isaac’ in Sunderland, Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Brentwood Cathedral and Handel’s Messiah at Gloucester Cathedral. He is also a member of the new professional male voice choir ‘Fathom 189’ making their London debut in February 2026. Greg is a founder member of professional chamber choir Sonoro and recently received a long service award for being a deputy tenor at Canterbury Cathedral for 20 years.

Greg’s other passions include playing cricket for the Broadstairs men’s Sunday XI and in February half term he and his son Rufus will be taking part in the Vienna indoor cricket tournament.

Matthew Rose - bass

Matthew Rose was born in Brighton, UK and following two years at Canterbury Christ Church studied at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Marlena Malas and Mikael Eliasen. He was a member of the Young Artists Programme at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden from 2003-2005, and has since performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, and at The Royal Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Scala, Milan, English National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Philadelphia, Santa Fe Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Semper Oper, Dresden, and at The Metropolitan Opera, New York. His rôles have included Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Mozart’s Figaro, Sarastro, Osmin and Leporello; King Marke, Colline, Phillippe II (Don Carlos), Claggart (Billy Budd), Seneca, Nick Shadow, Polyphemus, Gremin, Fasolt, Hunding, Frère Laurent, Wotan (Die Walküre), Raimondo (Lucia di Lamermoor), Enrico (Anna Bolena), Collatinus (The Rape of Lucretia), Claudio (Agrippina) and Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier.

He appears regularly in recital and was the first recipient of the Independent Opera / Wigmore Hall Fellowship. He has performed at Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and Festivals worldwide and has made recordings of Schubert’s song cycles Winterreise and Schwanengesang for Stone Records to great critical acclaim.

Matthew ran his own Summer Opera Programme, Scuola di belcanto, Urbania and has run courses at the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme in Aldeburgh UK. He was Artistic Advisor to the Lindemann Young Artists Development Programme at The Metropolitan Opera. He is visiting professor of singing at The Catholic University of Santiago, Chile and leads Spoleto Vocal Arts Workshop and The Tosti International Singing Academy in Folkestone.

https://www.askonasholt.com/artists/matthew-rose/

Acknowledgements

Felicity Allen (alto) who joins soloists in the final chorus “Sing the Lord ye voices all”

Sponsorship:

Private: Christina and Norman Brisk; Doreen Laven; Anonymous

Corporate:

Owen Hearing

https://owenhearing.com/

Kent Community Foundation

https://kentcf.org.uk/

Canterbury Cantata Trust:

Registered Charity No. 1163197