"The Creation" by Joseph Haydn

Description

Concert dates:
Sunday, October 18, 2026, 5:00 PM - at St. Martin Church in Baar and
Saturday, October 24, 2026, 7:00 PM - at Lukas Church in Lucerne
Ticket sales start in September 2026.

Musical direction:
The two conductors share the musical direction:
João Tiago Santos, choir director Singkreis Lukas and Francisco Santos, choir director CANTALBIS.

Participants:
The choir of about 80 singers is accompanied by the Ensemble Cantilena orchestra with 26 musicians as well as one female and two male vocal soloists.
Kathrin Hottiger, soprano
Jonathan Spicher, tenor
Balduin Schneeberger, bass-baritone

Program:
Joseph Haydn "The Creation" - Oratorio in three parts (2h)

"The Creation"
Work and significance:
Joseph Haydn's oratorio "The Creation" (1796–1798) is, alongside "The Seasons," one of his most important works and belongs to the central choral-symphonic compositions of the Viennese Classical period. The public premiere in 1799 at the Vienna Burgtheater was an extraordinary success and was described by contemporaries as a triumph for the then 66-year-old composer.
The work combines biblical texts from Genesis and Psalms with passages from John Milton's Paradise Lost. This creates a balanced libretto that connects religious content with an enlightened worldview and is expressly designed for the concert hall. "The Creation" dispenses with a theology of guilt and original sin and instead places the creation of the world and man at the center as an act of order, beauty, and affirmation of life. This attitude explains the work's enduring popularity far beyond church contexts.

Musical structure:
The musical structure is formally oriented to the oratorio tradition of Georg Friedrich Händel. The clear sequence of recitative, aria, and chorus is well balanced and symphonically conceived. The choirs take on a significant dramaturgical role and demand concentration, precision, agility, and vocal endurance from the singers.

Collaboration:
Singkreis Lukas had long planned a performance of "The Creation" and invited the choir CANTALBIS to collaborate. The two choir directors already knew each other from previous projects. Since both choirs are very similar in size, average age, repertoire, and aesthetic ideas, the collaboration was very easy to implement from the start.
Although the participating choirs are geographically close, they are anchored in different cantons. The project links ensembles and venues in the cantons of Lucerne, Zug, and Zurich, thus creating an interregional cultural impact.

Project goal:
This project offers ambitious amateur singers the opportunity to work on and perform one of the most important works of choral literature at a high artistic level. With a choir of about 80 participants and a correspondingly large audience, the project also has a social impact and contributes to the cultural revitalization of the involved regions. The use of a professional orchestra is indispensable.

Warm invitation:
The two choirs Singkreis Lukas and CANTALBIS are already looking forward to the two concert performances and warmly invite you to attend. Let yourself be inspired by this magnificent music.

Highlights

• Performance of the oratorio "The Creation" by Joseph Haydn
• Joint concert project of Singkreis Lukas and CANTALBIS
• Dates in Baar and Lucerne in October 2026

General Information

The concert takes place in October 2026 at St. Martin Church in Baar and at Lukas Church in Lucerne. It is accompanied by a choir of about 80 singers and an orchestra. The work is one of the most important of the Viennese Classical period and combines biblical texts with enlightened elements.

Location

Kirchgasse 1, 6340 Baar, Schweiz

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