The creation at Theater an der Wien

During his second visit to England, Haydn was offered an English-language libretto: the creation of the world according to the Bible. Essentially, The Creation contains no more and no less than this. The retired diplomat and music lover Gottfried van Swieten, one of Haydn's most important acquaintances in Vienna, was responsible for the translation. The experienced composer, master of the symphony and the string quartet, worked on the oratorio for nearly two years, from autumn 1796 to spring 1798. The premiere in the Schwarzenberg Palace attracted such a crowd that gendarmes had to cordon off a path for the invited guests. The press was also impressed by this major work: "The music has an expressive power beyond all imagining; the listener is enthralled, sees the raging of the elements, sees it become light, the fallen spirits sinking deep into the abyss, trembles at the rolling thunder, joins in the celebratory chorus of the heavenly host." (Teutscher Merker, 1798.)