In his introduction to this tutorial on Haydn’s famous chorus “The heavens are telling” from his oratorio “The Creation”, Ralph Allwood explains the piece’s origins.
Haydn visited London and was very impressed with the tradition of choirs singing oratorios, in particular Handel’s works. He decided that he’d like to write such a work too. Someone took him to see the Herschel telescope, which he looked through and saw the stars and planets for the first time. It was a completely overwhelming experience and Haydn, being a devout believer in God, decided that his first oratorio had to be about the creation.
Ralph’s theory is that Haydn wrote this particular chorus first, as it’s all about the heavens displaying the glory of God, and it provides a foundation for the entire work. Ralph likes to ask people “do you know where Haydn was inspired to write The Creation?” “No!” they say, and he replies “Slough!” (the Herschel telescope was in Slough). (This would have gone down particularly well at nearby Eton where Ralph was in charge of the music for many years.)
The famous chorus starts with a statement of the main theme “The heavens are telling the glory of God, the wonder of his works displays the firmament” at a relatively relaxed tempo. Ralph encourages the choir to introduce a tiny gap at “the… heavens”, which gives the start of the phrase a lightness and drive that would otherwise be missing. There are some beautiful trio sections, the three soloists in this work representing the angels Gabriel (soprano), Uriel (tenor) and Raphael (bass).
After the first trio section, one of the challenges for both organist and choir is managing the change of speed. The second part of the chorus is at a somewhat faster pace than the first, which drives it towards an exciting conclusion, but the choir has to pick up the new speed without any messing around. It’s also important to sustain this speed to the end, but the temptation is to let it flag back towards the original tempo.
Find out more about this tutorial here:
viscountorgans.net/haydn-the-...
About the Choir & Organ tutorial series:
This choir and organ tutorial series emphasises the partnership between director and organist, showing how the roles complement each other when creating excellent church music. The organist for this series is Jonathan Eyre, and the series is illustrated with a number of classic examples from the repertoire.
The works include the mass movements, Gloria and Sanctus, classic anthems such as Elgar’s monumental “Give unto the Lord”, and a section from Fauré’s Requiem. Each episode brings out a different aspect of choral performance and organ accompaniment, in most cases including a detailed rehearsal during which Ralph Allwood leads the choir through to a full rendition.
There is a well-established production team for these tutorial sessions, and it was a pleasure once again to bring it together for a recording session at the Old Royal Naval College Chapel in Greenwich on a bright day in January. James Atkinson, with his assistant Andy Heathcote, was responsible for the excellent camera work, this time employing a full six cameras to capture every detail of the action from a variety of angles. Adrian Lucas masterminded the sound recording, while Francis Rumsey acted as session director.
The organ used during these recordings is a Viscount Regent 356, a physical modelling digital instrument, which was installed in the chapel a few years ago to stand in for its ailing but historically significant pipe organ. The location of the console near to the choir at the front of the chapel makes for relatively easy interaction between conductor and organist.
Find out more about the choir and organ tutorial series here: viscountorgans.net/choir-and-...
28 сен 2023
