Creation Mass in A major

Since the days of Renaissance composers – beyond accusations of plagiarism – the admiration for a fellow composer has taken the form of quotations from his works or even new versions of his works. No less a work from the classical period than Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Creation (first performed in 1798), was the basis for the Schöpfungsmesse (Creation Mass) by the Salzburg Court and Cathedral Music Director, Luigi Gatti.

Gatti heard the oratorio in Salzburg performances conducted by Johann Michael Haydn in 1800. With great skill and sensitivity Gatti was able to underlay the choruses and arias of The Creation with the text of the Mass (at times he reduced and adapted the instrumentation), without doing harm to the admired original.

Scoring: 2 Fl, 2 Cor, 2 Tr, Timp, 2 Vl, 2 Va, Bc