Date/Time
17/11/2018 (19:30)

Location
Bedford Corn Exchange

Conductor: Ian Smith

With Bedford Sinfonia, leader Katherine Collinson

Soloists: Bethany Seymour (soprano), Joel Williams (tenor) Ben Bevan (bass).

Haydn’s Creation was begun in 1797 and published in 1800. It was inspired by Haydn’s visit to London in the early 1790s, where he heard Handel’s oratorios and was able to study the heavens through William Herschel’s great telescopes.  The Creation represents a union between the traditions of Handelian oratorio and Viennese mass, Hayden’s earlier oratorios and his later symphonic styles.  The arias and ensembles range from simple beauty to virtuoso pieces and the great expressive Adam and Eve duets of Part 3.  The chorus is heard in massive songs of praise and in lively numbers with the soloists.

Each day of creation is divided into a narrative with words derived from the Bilble, poetic sections often drawing on Milton’s Paradise Lost and a choral hymn of praise using paraphrases of the Psalms.

A review of our performance…

Saturday evening at Bedford Corn Exchange saw a large and attentive audience in attendance as Bedford Choral Society kicked off its home season with an splendid performance of Haydn’s Creation. Both acoustically and visually, it was the perfect scale of musical event for the Corn Exchange stage. The choir itself sang very well indeed, producing a warmly rounded and well-balanced sound throughout. Challenging fugal passages were delivered with confidence and vigour. The programme listed an impressive 120 singers, but at full throttle the choir produced a healthy forte, rather than a roof raising fortissimo. Ian Smith’s pacey direction maintained the flow of a work that is clearly close to his heart. The undoubted stars of the evening were the three excellent, professional soloists. Tenor Joel Williams has an immaculately pure voice and sang with the elevated reserve as required by the part. The writing for the bass and soprano soloists offers far greater expressive possibilities, especially in Part Three, where these voices take on the roles of Adam and Eve respectively. Bass Benjamin Bevan, sang with great charm, character and expression; his tone warm and focussed throughout the range. On the whole he sang with sensitive reserve, and it would have been a pleasure to hear him open up and show the large voice he undoubtedly possesses. Helen Neeve’s soprano was a total joy. With a rapid but unobtrusively delicate vibrato, her richly toned and refined voice is perfect for Haydn. A highly communicative artist, she brought great expression to the part, having been asked to stand in at less than 24 hours notice. With a somewhat small string contingent of 23 players, the orchestra threatened to be overpowered by the large choir. As it was, the orchestra was able to hold its own against the choir in the louder tutti sections. It was in softer, exposed passages where the smaller number of string players resulted in a certain thinness of tone. Rehearsal time for such performances is naturally limited and minor technical wobbles are to be expected, but after a decidedly shaky Introduction – The Representation of Chaos, the orchestra played very well. Malcolm Green, with his clearly articulated clarinet solos, was the pick of the wind players. Although the choir and orchestra were running a little out of steam towards the end of the performance, the evening will last long in the memory as a huge success.

Jeffrey Ginn