The entire creation of the world in an hour a quarter… it had to be through Haydn’s extraordinary powers of concentration that this insane wager could possibly succeed; others would not even dare attempt it. The Creation, dating from 1798, is one of the most ultimate and powerful of Haydn’s masterpieces. The great composer was always a master of surprise, and his invention of the Big Bang in musical form – including an introduction proclaiming ‘And then there was light’ – is chorally orchestrated to phenomenal effect. The work also retains a wonderful description of the various creations of the Lord; the extravagant evocation of whales remains an intense moment of orchestral invention, and the score is full of a genius which Beethoven had merely tapped into… Philippe Herreweghe has chosen to focus on a certain transparency of place, rather than perpetuating the traditional, bombastic dramatic gestures of orchestras within the German sphere. And, thus, the score gains greater clarity.