A welcoming smile from the door staff greeted us at the entrance of Ripon Cathedral as we entered last Saturday evening to hear a performance of The Creation by Joseph Haydn. This was an English language production by Knaresborough Choral Society with special guests the St Asaph Choral Society (who had travelled all the way up from Wales), and the Harrogate Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Rodriguez. Soloists were Toby Ward, Andrew Greenan and Pasquale Orchard (replacing the advertised Eleonore Cockerham), taking the parts of the angels, Uriel, Raphael and Gabriel.
With the first church being built on the site as long ago as 672 CE, the historic Ripon cathedral makes a most fitting location for a performance of what is considered to be Haydn’s “masterpiece of musical storytelling” and one that took us “beyond ourselves through the medium of music”.
Moulding life out of chaos
The Creation has three movements (here called parts), each one split into several works. Part I moves through the creation of light, earth, flora and the stars. The instrumental representation of chaos, with its moments of calm broken by energising, reverberating, stronger musical sounds expressed the beginning of the creation of not only our own world, but also of the universe itself. The orchestra and choir’s powerful performances echoed through the cathedral. In one part entitled Despairing, cursing rage one could almost feel the rage.
Gabriel’s aria, With verdure clad the fields appear delightful, sung by Pasquale Orchard (soprano), rang around the cathedral. It uplifted us to recognise – whether or not one is a believer – the marvel of the creation of our earth. Orchard’s green dress only added to the imagery of a verdant planet.
Raphael’s aria, Rolling in foaming billows as sung by Andrew Greenan (bass), emphasised the strength of flowing waters, as well as water being necessary for life itself.
Uriel, sung by Toby Ward (tenor), reminded us of the essential nature of light itself: vital for creating the verdant plantlife which now covered the earth.
Part I ended gloriously with the chorus and soloists joining with the orchestra in The heavens are telling the glory of God, reminding us of the wonders of the earth and its creation which should never be destroyed.
Animals and humans are created
After an interval, Part II moved into the fifth and sixth day: with the creation of animals, birds and, at its conclusion, humans. In And God said ‘let the waters bring forth in plenty’ one could imagine waters bubbling up, streams and trickles of water swelling into the mighty seas. Raphael sang And God created great whales and one could feel the slow-moving large whales venturing through the deep of the oceans. From Most beautiful appear, the trio, chorus and orchestral music swelled to emphasise the beauty of earth’s nature and animals, and the magnificence of the cathedral setting only added to the feeling of all the wonders of creation.
In the garden of Eden
Part III leads us to the garden of Eden and to Adam and Eve. Here all is harmony, contentment and peace. We are reminded again of the achievement of the creation from out of the turbulence of chaos by this exultation of the beauty of creation.
This is a vision like its close contemporary, William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Adam and Eve have not yet been driven from the paradise of Eden to face the world of experience, where reality reveals how humans can disregard the harmony of nature.
It allows listeners to reflect on how peace is no more because of Robert Burns’s “man’s inhumanity to man”. Blake’s “dark satanic mills” led not only to the despoiling of the planet but also to the dire threats of climate change. Creation is being destroyed with many creatures now extinct or threatened.
As the Honorary President of the Choral Society, Dr Philip Wilby, said in the programme notes, “Haydn’s Creation is a late masterpiece with a rich history, dealing as it does with God’s creation of the living world as outlined in the Book of Genesis. It presents us with a vision of nature at its most idealised and unblemished. To the modern listener, surrounded by the effects of global warming and pollution it also offers great resonance and food for thought for our own collective future.”
This magnificent performance in Ripon Cathedral on 23 May 2026 certainly did that, for me at least.
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