Nicholas Fairbank will conduct Haydn’s oratorio The Creation. This work, which was composed toward the end of the composer’s life, is a dynamic presentation of the Biblical story from the Book of Genesis. It also includes texts from the Book of Psalms and Milton’s Paradise Lost. The dynamic opening prelude is subtitled The Representation of Chaos. Haydn goes on to paint in music the thunder, rain and hail of Creation, and then the primordial creatures as they emerge: insects, fish, the cooing dove, the roaring lion.
Three soloists sing the parts of three archangels, Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael, as well as Adam and Eve. This year’s soprano Jennifer Turner and bass-baritone Louis Dillon will be familiar to Sooke Philharmonic audiences from last year’s performances of Mozart’s Requiem and Nicholas Fairbank’s Orion Vespers. Tenor soloist Timothy Carter recently completed a Master in Music degree at UVic with Benjamin Butterfield.
The Creation is an exciting work. “This is the third time I have had the opportunity to prepare and direct this wonderful oratorio by Joseph Haydn,” says Fairbank. “It is a delight to once again work with the Sooke Phil Chorus and Orchestra and bring this tremendous music to Sooke and the Western Communities.”
Performances:
- Saturday May 6th in Sooke at the Community Hall beginning at 7:30pm
- Sunday, May 7th in Colwood at the Royal Roads Dogwood Auditorium at 2:30pm
For more information, please go to: www.sookephil.ca
