Haydn Seek: August 2018

Of all Haydn's works, indeed, of all the many works of music produced in the 18^th century, scarcely any has had more ink spilt on it than Die Schöpfung, Haydn's The Creation. There are so many aspects of it which retain their air of both mystery and musico-sociological interest, that once determining to write about it, simply deciding which to hit upon can be a daunting task. In the end, I decided to go with what I was interested in, and the rest can remain on the table for subsequent follow-up by yourself. This will be one of my rare multi-part essays, beginning at the beginning, and subsequently moving through performance and reception. Sadly, we will never personally get to see Haydn on the podium in Prince Johann Joseph Nepomuk Schwarzenberg's palace in Vienna, waiting to stun the Gesellschaft der Associierten and their invited guests with the world première of A representation of Chaos…

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During Haydn's stay in London he was so much struck with the performance of Handel's Messiah that he intimated to his friend Barthélemon his great desire to compose a work of a similar kind. He asked Barthélemon what subject he would advise for such a purpose. Barthélemon took up his Bible and said, "There, take that, and begin at the beginning!" Barthélemon assured my father that this was the origin of the idea of the composition of The Creation.

Charles H. Purday in the magazine The Leisure Hour

When I consider many of the high or low points of Haydn's life, especially the ones which he had control over, I often try to put myself in his place and ask 'why am I choosing to do this?'. In 1795, for example, on his return from England, he was sitting pretty. If he had never done anything more with music beyond listen to it, he would have still left behind a 'one of the greatest…' legacy, without doubt. But no, instead of resting on his laurels, he went back to work with a vengeance. And did he the finish his career by outdoing himself in the genres he had already mastered? Nooo… not Haydn. Instead of that, he had one more go at most of the instrumental genres, excepting solo keyboard and symphony, which did, in fact, outdo what had come before, and then he put most of them away for good. After which it is all new or very underdone things, like Partsongs, a return from a long absence of Masses, and now, this. 'This' is the English Oratorio. True, he had written an oratorio previously, you can fairly say two of them if you would include 7 Last Words. But Il Ritorno di Tobia is an Italian oratorio and 7 Last Words is a unique one-off, not even a real oratorio at all. An English oratorio is quite a different species, to be sure.

6 April 1775 – Review (of Il ritorno di Tobia) - The Vienna Realzeitung

The famous Capellmeister Haydn showed the ability for which he is famous and for which he advanced once more. Expression, Nature, and Art were so skillfully and finely combined throughout this work that the audience was compelled to enjoy and wonder at all of these. His choruses in particular glowed with a ﬂame that could only be compared to Handel.

Was Haydn's Italian oratorio, 1774's Il ritorno di Tobia, typical of the genre? Let's see:

It is a libretto in the mold of Metastasio. We have discussed Metastasio before, he was the premier librettist of the 18^th century, and as it happens, a good friend of Haydn. Check.
When he wrote the …Tobia libretto, Giovanni Boccherini (brother of the composer Luigi) observes the unities of time, place, and action, so events which occurred in another time and place are narrated in past tense. Check.
The musical structure alternates between recitatives and arias, and the only ensemble is a duet. Check.
Finally, it has two parts, each closing with a chorus. Check.

The libretto is based on a story from the Book of Tobit in the Apocrypha, a section of the Latin Vulgate Bible. Metastasio's libretti frequently combined plot lines from antiquity (including the bible for oratorios) with the Cartesian notion that virtue was best embodied in an individual's ability to control human passion. So to answer our question, yes, it would be difficult for this work to be a more typical, Metastasian-style Italian oratorio.

You know that, while in London, Haydn was struck with Handel's music : he learned from the works of the English musician the art of being majestic. One day at Prince Schwarzenberg's when Handel's Messiah was performed, upon expressing my admiration of one of the sublime choruses of that work, Haydn said to me thoughtfully, "This man is the father of us all."

I am convinced that if he had not studied Handel, he would never have written The Creation : his genius was fired by that of this master. It was remarked by every one here, that after his return from London, there was more grandeur in his ideas.

Carpani – Le Haydine - (plagiarized & translated by Stendhal)

That rather straightforward statement, when combined with this one:

Haydn was present at the performance in Westminster Abbey, in 1791, and there heard, for the first time, the effect of an orchestra of more than a thousand persons — [list of players and singers here]…

William Gardiner in a footnote in Carpani's book Le Haydine (1810)

…has caused a lot of assumptions over the years. Gardiner, in fact, didn't publish his actual memoirs, which included the anecdote concerning Haydn's presence at Westminster, until 1838. By then, reviewers, would-be biographers and the public in general had already seized on a mashup version of this idea and it was now chiseled in stone that Haydn was there. Gardiner may have actually come to have his memory changed as people do when their original story gets expanded upon by others. So the question is not settled: was Haydn actually there? And for our purposes, the big question: does it even matter if he actually witnessed the Handel Festival in person?

John Rice⁴ has explored the "Was Haydn at Westminster?" story at length. If you are going to sort this story out, it has some significant importance. While this might all seem to be a by-the-way sort of topic, it actually goes to the root of the question of why Haydn wrote The Creation (and eventually The Seasons) at all. Here is my thumbnail conclusion; no, it doesn't matter if Haydn was there. The fact he was in London during the huge 1791 Festival, which was the last at Westminster, and the largest and grandest of the entire series, and that he was in the company of such as Charles Burney and a host of the premier British music luminaries of the time, guaranteed he was aware of it. Simply reading a newspaper or discussing the topic with one who did read about it, or better yet, attended it, was a way he would have gotten a solid feeling for what people did and how they felt about it. Knowing Haydn as we do by now, how they felt about it was perhaps the most important thing to him. And let us not forget what we saw earlier; Haydn was a prolific conversationalist. He not only would have heard about it, he would have elicited far more about the hearer's impressions.

In addition to seeing the huge social impact caused by Handel's works, he was already very familiar with the music, he had even joined Mozart as a visitor at Van Swieten's in the 1780's, although whether he partook of the Handel fever going on is yet a matter for debate. Griesinger certainly thought so;

Haydn had long been acquainted with van Swieten. "He patronized me occasionally with several ducats, and also gave me a comfortable traveling coach for the second journey to England." The violinist Starzer and the lute player Kohaut used to come often to Swieten's to perform Haydn's music, and there also Handel's compositions were oftentimes given alternately under the direction of Haydn and of Mozart.

Griesinger – Biographical Notes page 38 (Gotwals)

Certainly, though, he was pressured by Van Swieten, just as Mozart was, to write a Handelian-style oratorio.

…He [Haydn] had set out on the second London journey (1794) in a carriage provided by Swieten, and had probably [previously] taken part in some of the Handel oratorio concerts (1788-89). Moreover, van Swieten had previously tried to encourage Haydn to write an oratorio. Die Vergotterung Hercules, a cantata by Johann Baptist von Alxinger, which [, when it] appeared in the Osterreichische Monatsschrift in 1793, bore the following explanatory footnote:

. . . Baron van Swieten wished to submit something to the excellent Haydn, which he should set to music in the spirit and manner of Handel. This is the occasion for the present Cantata, in which the number, and even the order of the arias, duets and choruses was prescribed to me [by Swieten]. (J.B. Alxinger)

Edward Olleson (see bibliography)⁵

So how does an English oratorio differ? What did Handel do to change up the form to satisfy his adopted country?

For Handel in England the word 'oratorio' normally designated a musical entertainment that used a three-act dramatic text based on a sacred subject; the musical setting used the styles and forms of Italian opera and English sacred choral music, although at times modified in their new context; the chorus was considered essential and was usually prominent; and the manner of performance was that of a concert, usually at a theatre or concert hall, often with concertos performed between the acts. The greater use of the chorus and the division into three acts (Handel preferred 'act' rather than 'part' for the sections of an oratorio) are among the features that distinguish the Handelian English oratorio from the Italian oratorio.

The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians
Article: Oratorio | 8. Handel and the English oratorio

We saw above, and in our original discussion of Italian oratorio, they are always in two parts with an intermission. The intermission was used as an opportunity for a sermon within a sacred oratorio, or a concerto in a profane one. So here we see the first big difference, compared to Il ritorno di Tobia, which we have determined to be a typical example:

The Creation, like all English oratorios, had 3 parts ('Acts'). Il ritorno… has just two.

Il ritorno… has two choruses, one at the end of each part. The Creation has ten! Six with the chorus alone, and four more where they accompany soloists.

Eleven of seventeen of Handel's oratorios begin with a French overture. It is a standard he created. Italian oratorios such as Il ritorno di Tobia, generally begin with an Italian style overture. The Creation begins with… Chaos!

To be sure, subject matter was all-important to both genres. And in that regard, the creation of the world would have been a suitable topic for either one.

The first idea for the oratorio The Creation belongs to an Englishman, Lidley by name, and Haydn was to have composed Lidley's text for Salomon. He soon saw, however, that his understanding of the English language was insufficient for this undertaking; also the text was so long that the oratorio would have lasted close to four hours. Haydn meanwhile took the text with him to Germany.

Griesinger – Biographical Notes page 37-38 (Gotwals)

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The first suggestion for this work came from Salomon in London. Since he had been fortunate in so many musical undertakings up to then, and Haydn had contributed no little to this fortune, his courage for new undertakings was always greater. Salomon resolved to have a great oratorio written by Haydn, and delivered to him for that purpose an already old text, in the English language. Haydn had doubts about his knowledge of the English language, did not undertake it, and finally left London on August 15, 1795.

A.C. Dies Biographical Account of Joseph Haydn page 174 (Gotwals)

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"... My part in the work, which was originally in English, was certainly rather more than mere translation; but it was far from being such that I could regard it as my own. Neither is it by Dryden ... but by an unnamed author who had compiled it largely from Milton's Paradise Lost and had intended it for Handel. What prevented the great man from making use of it is unknown; but when Haydn was in London it was looked out, and handed over to the latter with the request that he should set it to music".

Baron Gottfried van Swieten Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung 'Vienna, End of December 1798'

This all seems straightforward enough, eh? With only a few minor flaws, such as no one named 'Lidley' was ever in London during the second half of the 18^th century, let alone in a position to have a libretto originally intended for Handel but never used. That particular objection is easily resolved, since we know Haydn was acquainted with Thomas Linley the Elder who was not only a top musician in London, but also was in charge of the oratorio series at Drury Lane Theatre during Haydn's visits. There is a consensus among historians that Linley was indeed the source, although he is not the only possibility. Far more interesting to me, and equally likely is this possibility:

John Christopher (J.C.) Smith Jr. was the son of Johann Christoph Schmidt (John Christopher Smith Sr.) (died 1763), Handel's first copyist in London. His father, known to Handel from Halle, was summoned from Germany in 1716. He brought his family to London around 1720.

J.C. had a few lessons from Handel and Johann Christoph Pepusch but studied mostly with Thomas Roseingrave. He later became Handel's secretary, musical assistant and amanuensis, when blindness prevented Handel from writing or conducting in his later years. The last year when Handel conducted performances of his oratorios was 1752.

….Handel bequeathed to Smith the keyboard instruments in his house at 25 Brook Street and his manuscripts.

After the success of his oratorio Paradise Lost in 1760, he became artistic director of the Covent Garden Royal Theatre, a position that he was forced to relinquish due to health reasons in 1772. When granted an annual pension by the King in 1774, Smith retired to Bath. He died in London in 1795.

Wikipedia article | John Christopher Smith

J.C. knew everyone who was anyone on the London music scene, certainly he knew Linley, with whom he had worked in Drury Lane, and Burney, and no doubt Salomon. If he didn't personally know Haydn, who spent several weeks in Bath, he undoubtedly knew of him. Further on, we'll see that Neil Jenkins proposes a solid contender for the writer of the libretto, and the chain of custody certainly convinces me of this scenario's plausibility; J.C. had the libretto for twenty years, heard about Salomon's search for a libretto about the Creation of the World, and gave it to Linley to give to Salomon and Haydn. Would this be easy to prove other than circumstantially? Well, maybe not since, by some odd coincidence, J.C. Smith and Thomas Linley both died in 1795, shortly after Salomon handed the libretto over to Haydn. Timing is everything!

The Chain connecting the libretto of The Creation to Haydn

The Man Himself – ca. 1730 by Philip Mercier	Charles Jennens – ca. 1745 by Thomas Hudson

J.C. Smith by Johann Zoffany	Thomas Linley the Elder. – by Thomas Gainsborough

Johann Peter Salomon ca. 1815 by James Lonsdale	Finally to Joseph Haydn – ca. 1799 by J. C. Rößler

At first sight the material seemed to him indeed well chosen, and well suited to musical effects, but he nevertheless did not accept the proposal immediately; he was just on the point of leaving for Vienna, and he reserved the right to announce his decision from there, where he wanted to take a look at the poem. He then showed it to me... [snip] but I recognized at once that such an exalted subject would give Haydn the opportunity I had long desired, to show the whole compass of his profound accomplishments and to express the full power of his inexhaustible genius; I therefore encouraged him to take the work in hand…

Baron Gottfried van Swieten Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung 'Vienna, End of December 1798'

Speculation over who wrote the original libretto of The Creation has gone on since it was first made public. Donald Tovey in 1937, in Essays in Musical Analysis⁹, voices the, by then, long-standing tradition that Linley was the writer ("I am sure that 'Lidley' is only Linley - with a cold in his head"). But this can't be so; Linley was a musician, not a writer. Particularly, he was not someone who could have held his own with Milton & the Bible! So let us admit openly that Haydn got the libretto from Linley, but not that Linley wrote it, it just won't do.

In more modern times, it was an article by Edward Olleson in The Haydn Yearbook (The Origin and Libretto of Haydn's Creation' - Haydn Yearbook N^o. 4, 1968) which set off the hunt all over again. The methods used range from literary style and word analysis to historical circumstance. There was never any doubt that the three main sources for the word book are the Bible (Genesis & Psalms), John Milton's Paradise Lost Vol. VII, and, just maybe, a suggestion of Shakespeare added for spice.

Olleson suggests the poet of the unused libretto was Newburgh Hamilton, who is known to have been Handel's librettist for Alexander's Feast (1736), Samson (1743) Semele (1744), The Occasional Oratorio (1746), Susannah and Solomon (1749). Olleson's rationale, derived rather oddly in my opinion, is that the libretto for Samson (based on Milton's Samson Agonistes) is, in his opinion, the Handel oratorio closest in spirit to "The Creation". After such a considerable amount of analysis, this disappointing conclusion is analogous to the one which for years attributed Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony to Haydn because "it sounds like Haydn". But I digress.

A second discussion, this one by Temperley⁸, from whom you would expect some sort of conclusion, merely defers to Olleson. He does, however, follow this up with a detailed description of precisely where the inspiration for each verse originates, which is valuable in and of itself.

Before passing judgment on the Hamilton idea, we should let Neil Jenkins⁷ weigh in. He presents what is by far the most cogent and persuasive argument, and it doesn't come down in favor of Newburgh Hamilton, but rather, he leans hard and with good reasons in the direction of Charles Jennens, librettist for Messiah, Israel in Egypt, Saul, and Belshazzar.

It would be foolhardy of me to attempt to reproduce Jenkins' analysis of all things Jennens, especially when you can easily read it yourself. Suffice to say, Jennens had all the tools and literary knowledge to have produced the original Creation, his style virtually yells from each high and low point in the text. If this is a topic which interests you (and it should, it is quite fascinating and very relevant to Haydn's greatest work), I recommend that you go to Google search and type in " Jenkins Creation Haydn libretto " and the very first return is a link to this 68 page PDF essay.

As important as Jenkins' work is in identifying the 'Ur-librettist', just as importantly, he establishes the background for asserting J.C. Smith as the man who was entrusted with the libretto and who, in turn, passed it along to Thomas Linley to give to Salomon, and thus to Haydn.

It is just possible that Charles Jennens, who lived until 1773, knew of - or attended – John Christopher Smith's new oratorio [Paradise Lost], and made one last attempt to interest a composer in setting Handel's rejected and unused text. He may have felt that, with the production of this oratorio on a Miltonic theme currently holding the stage in London, his libretto would finally meet with a favorable reception. Jennens would have known both Smiths, father and son. He obtained manuscript copies of Handel's works from them on a regular basis - as the Aylesford collection bears out (now in the Newman Flower Collection of the Henry Watson Music Library, Manchester). Smith senior was Handel's closest confidante, chief amanuensis, and 'minded the shop' at Handel's house in Brook Street, where Jennens would have met him regularly. John Christopher Smith, his son, was not only in charge of the annual performances of Messiah at the Foundling Hospital in the post-Handel years 1759 - 68 (and had been the conductor during the year's of Handel´s blindness), but he also ran the Lent oratorio series together with John Stanley. Who better, then, for Jennens to entrust his libretto to?

Neil Jenkins ⁷

Are the findings of this detective story necessary for enjoyment of The Creation when the time finally rolls around to listen to it? I should say it depends upon you. Paradoxically, I love a mystery because I hate mysteries. I want to know what there is to know about the topic at hand. I expect many of you do also. So I will say, for now, we have advanced from London of the early 1750's to Vienna of the late 1790's, and thanks to the scholarship which has been expended upon it, we probably already know as much or more about the origins of The Creation than anyone in the previous 220 years! Next time, we will move into Prince Schwarzenberg's palace along with the members of the Gesellschaft der Associierten and prepare to be swept away!

You can continue the story here...

Thanks for reading!

Haydn Seek

August 2018

18 August 2018

1798 – The Music part 1 - The Creation; Not exactly 'out of the void'

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