Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Die Schöpfung
Lucy Crowe (soprano), Benjamin Bruns (tenor), Christian Gerhaher (bass-baritone)
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Sir Simon Rattle
rec. live, 2023, Herkulessaal der Residenz, Munich, Germany
Texts and translations provided
Reviewed as High Resolution 24/44 WAV files
BR Klassik 900221 [100]
When Sir Simon Rattle stepped onto the platform of the Herkulessaal in September 2023 to conduct his first concert with the Bavarian RSO as their Principal Conductor, it was to present Haydn’s The Creation. He is a great lover of this piece and has indeed said that were he only able to take one piece with him to his desert island, it would be this. It was a great way to open his tenure and as you will read, it was a wonderful performance.
When he took over at the Berliner Philharmoniker in June 2002 he opened with an Adès piece and Mahler 5. With the LSO fifteen years later, it was with a brilliantly programmed concert including Adès again, Birtwistle’s Violin Concerto, Knussen’s Third Symphony and the Enigma Variations. Although I am sure Antonio Pappano will do great things at the LSO, Rattle’s move to Munich is a loss to us on these shores. I don’t think it is a secret he was frustrated with several things in the UK and being domiciled in Berlin with his family was a huge factor too. I saw a few of his online lockdown concerts from Munich in those times and you could clearly tell Rattle found the efficient, respectful joined-up working practices in Germany a happier affair than what he had to cope with over here.
Sir Simon is a self-confessed Haydn-nut. He has recorded The Creation before and I am lucky to have a few unofficial accounts of the oratorio on my hard drives, too, including Berlin performances from 2007 involving Lisa Milne, John Mark Ainsley and Thomas Quasthoff and from 2017 with Elsa Dreisig, Mark Padmore and Florian Boesch. (Spoiler alert: don’t be too jealous, this version is better than both.) Going back to the official recording Rattle made for EMI with his CBSO in the Spring of 1990 in their pre-Symphony Hall days, that version was my first on CD. At the time, Gramophone gave it an awful review. Rattle’s Chorus used a new English translation but it was the conductor’s way with the phrasing and pacing in the orchestra that really seemed to jar for Gramophone. I loved it. I think at the time Nikolaus Harnoncourt was causing a real stir with his revelatory performances in Beethoven and I am sure Rattle and others were influenced by his approach. I chuckled when I noticed on the cover of this CD that the recording was sponsored by a brand of Sherry, Croft Original – very random, but apt, as they had an ad campaign on TV that featured mini Jeeves and Wooster sketches and always ended with the phrase: “you instinctively know when something is right”.
Rattle’s EMI Creation for me is still a good listen. Philip Langridge and Arleen Auger were both the same age (50) and, a few intonation issues aside, still in good voice. Bass David Thomas is wonderful throughout. Later that year, the CBSO and Rattle recorded more Haydn – symphonies – and he continued to do so fairly regularly for EMI even into the Berlin era. For reference and to finally reinforce the point that he is the genuine article in Haydn, it is noteworthy that even as far back as 1980 Rattle was at Glyndebourne conducting La fedeltà premiata. (He actually did it on their tour the year before, too.)
Haydn’s Creation was composed in 1797/8 in Vienna and was immediately popular. It was given many times even during those last ten years of Haydn’s life. The last time he heard it was a notable gala occasion in 1808. Haydn had been picked up from his home by the personal carriage of Nicholas II, Prince Esterházy. On arrival at the hall, as he sat there shivering with cold, his many well-to-do admirers covered him up with their coats and robes. He had hardly any teeth left and had a rosary always in his hands. Salieri conducted the first part of the work; the excitement was so great it proved too much for the old master and he was ordered home. Before he left, Beethoven with whom he had always had shall we say a difficult relationship, knelt before him in homage and with genuine tears in his eyes, kissed him.
For this review I restricted myself to comparable recordings that involved a full symphony orchestra playing on modern instruments. I listened to three other versions; Zubin Mehta’s with the Munich PO recorded at the Gasteig in 2019 on the Münchner Philharmoniker’s own label, Bernard Haitink’s version with the BRSO recorded like Rattle’s in the Herkulessaal in 2013 and released on BR Klassik and finally Sir Colin Davis with the LSO at the Barbican in 2007 on the LSO Live label.
Rattle uses a classical sized orchestra. He splits his violins left and right and his Chorus is of around 50 in size. From the Representation of Chaos, the works’ overture onwards we can tell the orchestra are going to play just as important a part in tone painting and characterisation as any of the three soloists. The playing is throughout fresh and alert. Attacks are crisp and there is always joy and life in the sound which is captured marvellously by the team at BR Klassik. I do like the way Sir Colin Davis did his opening to the work with his LSO. His careful awakening to the piece and his gradual lightening and colouring of the chords is very effective but some may find it a little too ponderous. His Representation is much the slowest. (Rattle’s is the fastest, by the way.)
Let us consider each one of our soloists in turn. Rattle’s Creation is obviously sung in German but I hope readers will forgive me referring to arias and set pieces by their English translations which no doubt will be how many of us got to know them originally.
Lucy Crowe will be mainly familiar to readers for her excellent work with Handel and Mozart. She must inevitably be judged on her two arias With verdure clad in Part 1 and On mighty pens in Part 2. As it was a Sunday morning when I was concentrating on the soprano contribution, I couldn’t resist a trip to my garage to dig out two dark-blue label Columbia 78s from the 1940s I picked up second hand many years ago. In DX 1052 the Hallé under Leslie Heward accompanied the sweet-toned Isobel Baillie in the first aria. This was pre-Barbirolli and recorded in the dark days of invasion threatened Britain. DX 1392 dates from 1946 and had Baillie singing the virtuosic second aria with the Philharmonia under George Weldon. “Never Sing Louder than Lovely” was the name of her autobiography; her voice was indeed adorable and as an experienced singer on the oratorio circuit she would no doubt have sung The Creation (always in English) countless times by the time these records were made. Baillie like many sopranos from her time and up to today sings the part straight, making no additions to her vocal line in the score. Lucy Crowe is different. She is happy to embellish and decorate when she can and is very successful in this, even if she takes a little while to warm up. Her very first solo The marv’llous work is a little nervy but by the time we get to On mighty pens she is on top form. The form of this aria is not unlike the da capo ones Lucy Crowe is so used to in Handel’s writings and in the second part her coloratura is impressive and in the grand tradition of bel canto. Her trills are super, she has mastery of staccato à la Tetrazzini and she is clear and bell-like in tone production. Camilla Tilling for Haitink does not attempt the florid approach to the same degree as Lucy Crowe but her runs and slides are also very impressive. Sally Matthews for Davis has a lovely warm flicker to her voice but cannot match Lucy Crowe for agility. For Mehta, Mojca Erdmann’s soprano seems not fully under control. There is also a slight tinniness to her tone which bothers me a little.
In the great Trio of part 2 Most beautiful appear leading to The Lord is Great, Lucy Crowe is touching and steady of voice and is not drowned out by the massed voices when they arrive. In the final part of Creation where she takes the role of Eve she duets memorably and charmingly with Christian Gerhaher, who is sublime.
Our tenor is Hanover-born Benjamin Bruns. His test piece is In native worth also in part 2 of the oratorio. Bruns has sung Lohengrin, Erik (Der fliegende Holländer), Max (Der Freischütz) and the Emperor (Die Frau ohne Schatten) recently and is due to bring his Parsifal to Hamburg in 2025. These roles might give you the idea his voice is heavier than it actually is. On this showing, I am impressed with his phrasing and the clarity of his diction. There seems little wear in his instrument which I presume is due to good technique. A very nice performance whilst not altogether eclipsing happy memories of Bostridge or Padmore in the older comparative records.
For me, the stand-out performance vocally however is from baritone Christian Gerhaher. Bavarian born and bred he is at his absolute peak at the current time as anyone who has heard him recently as Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Amfortas (Parsifal), Golaud (Pelléas) or most impressively Wozzeck will no doubt testify. He is imposing and large in amplitude throughout and he gives us a vocal masterclass from his Rolling in foaming billows through his description of the multitude of animal life; predatory lion and tigers, the pastoral calm of the cattle and sheep right down to insects and the worm – and as he is a baritone we cannot expect him to take the low version of the worm-note, by the way. His Part 2 test aria – yes, they all have one- is Now heaven in fullest glory shone. Gerhaher’s class here is notable. If I am being über-critical I can hear some aspirated H’s but nowadays no-one seems to mind that and it does not detract from a super fiery version of the aria. As Adam in Part 3 he is immense. His love duet with Eve, Graceful Consort is enchanting and worthy of this great exponent of the Lied. I enjoyed, as I always do René Pape’s dark bass contribution on the Mehta records. At 55 when the recording was made he has still got it and is the most striking singer in this version. I just can’t unhear him as Gurnemanz, though – not necessarily a bad thing I guess. For me Gerhaher is the greatest of the soloists in all four versions of the piece I have lived with these past few days and I urge you to sample him at any place in the score of your choosing.
The orchestra is wonderful. There are innumerable examples where you find yourself smiling at a phrase or emphasis you didn’t expect. Hard sticks for timpani, strong downbeats, pointed rhythms and judicious use of vibrato keep the music fresh and alive. Rattle also handles his chorus well; they have been thoroughly prepared by the excellent Peter Dijkstra. Big moments for the choir move along vigorously and never sag. I find Haitink a little dull in comparison. Mehta with the Munich PO play with a lightness that is charming, not unlike the BRSO in style. His harpsichord led continuo are very prominent and play the harmony in tutti too. I swear I can even hear them in the double fugue of Achieved is the glorious work but maybe my ears are playing tricks on me. Mehta is rightly adored in Munich. He was Generalmusikdirektor at the Bavarian State from 1998-2006 and I think holds some honorary positions with the Munich PO and elsewhere. In the final reckoning, however, Mehta’s Creation cannot stand up to the new Rattle version.
Even Sir Colin Davis’s version which in my opinion is the best one of modern-instrument full orchestra accounts of the last thirty years is eclipsed by this new Bavarian rendition. Davis gave the work in German and uses a larger choir than Rattle. Sir Colin was always wonderful in Haydn. He just got the sheer exhilaration of the music and was a skilled enough technician to convey this to his players. Just listen to the way he prepares the scene for Uriel’s In splendour bright, or the pacing of the great accompanied trio The Lord is Great. I am certainly keeping my LSO Live CDs but for now they must take second place to the newcomer.
After a couple of performances at the comparatively intimate Herkulessaal, the Bavarians decamped to the Benedictine Abbey of Ottobeuren for a final performance of The Creation. This was broadcast on free channel 3sat throughout Germany. The reverberance of that baroque setting is very different from the Herkulessaal (around ten seconds I would guess) but the performance was likewise majestic. You can watch it for free on the BRSO website or legally on YouTube and I heartily recommend you do that if you are a fan of Haydn. Older collectors may remember another Creation at Ottobeuren similarly televised and released officially and with the same orchestral and choral forces. That radiant performance with the legendary Leonard Bernstein will no doubt live forever in the hearts of those who were lucky to be there in 1986. I get the feeling nonetheless that both Bernstein and Haydn himself would be happy to yield the field today to Rattle and his new generation. They have all of them given us a treasure to store in our memories and enrich our lives.
With the adoring audience on their feet at the end of The Creation back in 1800s Vienna, Haydn just weakly raised his finger to point to the Heavens – “Not from me – from up there!” Des Herren Ruhm, er bleibt in Ewigkeit! (The Lord’s glory endures forever.)
Philip Harrison
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