Haydn: The Creation (with dance)
Scherzo Ensemble, Orpheus Sinfonia
Matthew O’Keeffe, conductor
Winchester College New Hall, 6th April 2024

Under their artistic director and conductor Matthew O’Keeffe and producer and general manager Stephanie Waldron, the Scherzo Ensemble (a charity since 2021) and their associated Longhope Opera provide training and development opportunities for emerging singers, including (commendably, paid) performances. One such was this imaginative realisation of Haydn’s oratorio, The Creation, in Winchester College’s New Hall (repeated the following day in St John’s, Smith Square). It was promoted as “a unique classical experience . . . where music seamlessly intertwines with dance, costume, and lighting, breathing new life into this timeless masterpiece . . . engaging the singers and instrumentalists in a captivating synergy of movement and sound alongside the dancers”. The performance showcased the emerging artists as soloists, choir, and dancers, together with the Orpheus Sinfonia chamber orchestra.

The Creation was inspired by Haydn hearing large-scale performances of Handel oratorios in Westminster Abbey during a 1791 visit to London. On a later visit, he was given a libretto based on the creation of the world, using texts from John Milton and the Bible, possibly originally intended for Handel. Apart from the Catholic hierarchy that banned it from their churches, The Creation was very popular in its day and remains so. It had over forty performances in Vienna alone before Haydn’s death, all in the composer’s presence. It was originally published with German and English texts, but the English was a poor translation of the German translation of the libretto’s original English. This performance used a more recent English text.

After some more-or-less private performances in Vienna, the first public performance was a monumental affair, with some 120 instrumentalists and around 60 singers. This Winchester performance was rather more modest with around 35 performers, 18 instrumentalists, five vocal soloists, a chorus of 12, and five dancers. Apart from trombones, all the different orchestral instruments that Haydn called for were used (albeit singly) including, notably, the contra-bassoon which made several distinctive contributions. My only quibble with the instrumentation was the use of a grand piano for the recitatives. There was an (almost inaudible) digital keyboard and I did wonder if that could have produced a sound closer to the delicate sound of the fortepiano that Hadyn would have intended.

The vocal soloists (pictured above) were soprano Anna Gregg as Gabriel, tenor Sam Harris as Uriel, bass Edwin Kaye as Raphael, baritone Michael Temporal Darellas as Adam and soprano Caroline Blair as Eve. All five gave impressive performances, projecting the words well and making good use of the space. The sillier moments of the text and Haydn’s delightful depictions of the various animals of creation were taken seriously, even the “sinuous worm”, which was a bit of a shame. I normally find it hard not to giggle during this section of the piece and I’m sure Haydn composed his depictions with a grin on his face. Each of the five vocal roles was matched by the dancers Abbie Thompson, Elliot Minogue-Stone, Malachi Briant, Mercedes Prevatt and Riz Golden (pictured below). Dancers and singers were in varying degrees of costume (designed by Jennifer Gregory), the three archangels, Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael each topped with little wire halos. The choreography by Osian Meilir was very effective, involving the dancers as well as the chorus.

The lighting design seemed well thought out in principle but was problematical in practice, with singers and much of the dancing out of the lighting beams. However, the lighting did work well in the dramatic early moment of the creation of light, as did the orchestra and conductor Matthew O’Keeffe who dealt commendably with the all-important opening sequence, with well-controlled dynamics of Haydn’s depiction of chaos leading to the opening chorus with its “and there was LIGHT” moment.

The programme could perhaps have done with a bit more information about the music, but it is a well-known piece so was probably known by at least some of the audience. It was an impressive production with a fine cast of young performers. The Scherzo Ensemble, their founders and financial backers are to be congratulated on this initiative.