The Wonder of God’s Work (choral score)

“The Wonder of God’s Work” from Haydn’s The Creation is a piece that has been performed as a separate octavo throughout the last century. It is a wonderful way to introduce young musicians to the classical era of choral composition; it was one of my first pieces I sang from the classical era as well. Although the original movement was written with full orchestral accompaniment, I have transcribed the piece for both oboe and piano, or oboe and string quintet. These editions also include a new English translation, which was the result of my desire to produce a new English translation that better matches the exquisite beauty of Haydn’s compositional writing.

This new English translation is part of a full edition of Haydn’s The Creation that was the culmination of research for my doctoral document at the University of Arizona. This English translation is based on current research into The Creation, as well as review of original text sources: the original English text of Baron van Swieten; the German translation, provided by van Swieten, that Haydn used to compose the oratorio; original source material including the King James Bible and Milton’s Paradise Lost. Finally, these text sources were combined with modern language and syntax in order to more accurately represent the original English text. A companion document detailing this research is available.

– Philip Moody