The seasons

Joseph Haydn is said to have attributed the success of his "Creation" (1798) to the "singing of the angels". But in "The Seasons" (1801), only people sing: whistling peasants, cheering hunters and jubilant girls, accompanied by hunting horns, fiddles and lyres. The work, which leaves the classical tradition of the oratorio behind, uses a wealth of tone-painting to describe the course of the year and rural life, from the freshness of spring to the frosty stillness of winter. James Thomson's didactic poem The Seasons served as a model, which ties in with the then widespread idea of a nature from which the work of God speaks even in its smallest manifestation. The poem was revised by the Austrian Baron Gottfried van Swieten. He replaced the gloomy natural disasters with idyllic scenes and an optimistic ending: the winter becomes mild, the wanderer in search finds refuge.

With festive choruses, intimate moments and lively scenes such as an autumnal wine festival or the dramatic hunt in the forest, Haydn shows the joys and challenges of everyday peasant life - and stages the appeal to people to act responsibly and in harmony with nature, detached from the theological understanding of the text. Despite the rather trivial subject matter compared to the story of creation, the oratorio "The Seasons" captivates with its musical diversity, which challenges the choir, soloists and orchestra in equal measure. Haydn's wink is evident in humorous details such as the use of timpani as "firearms". This last great work by the composer is a homage to rural life, rich in color, sound and self-irony.

Organizer: Winterthur Conservatory

Joseph Haydn - "The Seasons" Oratorio for three solo voices, choir and orchestra