Creation

How can a great oratorio such as "The Creation" be reduced to a few instruments in order to enjoy it in a small, domestic setting? How should the arias, choirs and recitatives be presented, and how can the biblical text be conveyed? Joseph Haydn delegated this apparent challenge to the then well known composer Anton Wranitzky, who arranged the music for string quintet. He left open questions about the text, so the Pandolfis Consort, playing on historical instruments, embarked on the great adventure of integrating spoken recitatives as well as passages of the libretto to illustrate the history of divine action. The role of the narrator took over Fritz von Friedl, one of the most famous Austrian speakers and actors. The result is this highly impressive and moving recording of the chamber music version of this monumental work, which had been wrongly forgotten.