Papa Haydn Saves the Day

Ruth had a conversation at work today that included Haydn’s “The Heavens are Telling” — that was all I needed — what a wonderful evening it’s been listening the Haydn’s masterwork. It’s a work I’ve loved my life long.

A sorry aside: Margaret and I got to attend the Salzburger Festspiele one year — I was beside myself —we had the opportunity to hear Haydn’s “Creation” with John Eliot Gardiner conducting — we were so excited. And then, we were so disappointed. Never have I been so disgusted that I got up and left a concert, but that was a first. Play your original instruments if you must, but play musically. The splats from the brass were almost funny at first and then it was almost offensive. Just an awful interpretation.

But it didn’t diminish my love for Haydn’s oratorio. If you want to be impressed and thrilled, check out Adam Fischer’s rendition of this great work. Fischer’s exuberance is contagious and he’s an absolute delight as he relishes Haydn’s genius. The marvelous soloists and chorus and orchestra come together here serendipitously to offer a truly exceptional performance for the ages. (If you want to follow the English as you listen, here’s a summary.)

Alas, the last chord was played this evening, and our glimpse of the Edenic garden came to end — it was back to the mundane, but the primordial conflict of darkness and light continued apparently. Turning the channel, we heard that politics is a “soul-craft,” that “soon and very soon” a political solution, not a spiritual one, will come to pass. They couch this political struggle now in the spiritual terms of darkness and joy. The answer is clear and common-sensical and “just feels right,” they say, like a family dinner with mac and cheese and a crazy dog — choose joy.

It’s a topic for another day, but words are dear to me. Haydn’s “Die Schöpfung” evokes joy unequivocally, but the political usage of this state of being irks and offends. A tawdry interpretation or usage doesn’t have to diminish the work or the word itself, however. So, yes — I’ll choose joy, but not the cheap imitation that the politicians peddle.