The Creation in the Helsinki Cathedral, the 1st of November, 2019

This year my All Saints’ Day’s Eve’s oratorio was a new acquaintance i.e. Joseph Haydn’s ”The Creation”, which was performed by Cantores Minores boy choir, Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) and the soloists Helena Juntunen, Tuomas Katajala and Tommi Hakala in the Helsinki Cathedral. As the name says, ”The Creation” describes the creation of the world as told by three angels: Gabriel (Juntunen), Uriel (Katajala) and Raphael (Hakala). In the last part of the oratorio the main characters are Adam (Hakala) and Eve (Juntunen). I can’t remember if I have ever heard an oratorio based on the creation of the world, so even that made the performance interesting. The text of the oratorio is based on the Book of Genesis, psalms and John Milton’s ”Paradise Lost”.

Already the overture of the oratorio i.e. the moment before the creation of the world sounded unusual when it fluctuated between quiet sounds and thundering fortes. I have usually heard oratorios played by modern orchestras, so FiBO’s sound was really different, but after a moment of adjusting my ears, I definitely liked it. I cannot say what was the role of conductor Hannu Norjanen in the final sound, but it did sound good.

Cantores Minores choir had in this work a bit less to sing than in many other oratorios, but their work was in no way disappointing

I was also very satisfied with the soloists. Tuomas Katajala performed the role of stable Uriel with his usually certainty. Tommi Hakala’s Raphael was also no disappointment, even though it contained no surprises either. Helena Juntunen’s performance as Gabriel was perhaps the liveliest of them. This trio sang beautifully together, nobody was left in the shadow and all had strong enough voices to lift their character on the top when required. Very balanced performance.

But the real highlight of the oratorio was the final part. I have never before heard a love duet in an oratorio, but this is what you have in “The Creation”, when Adam and Eve sing about their mutual love. “Mit dir geniess ich doppelt sie” (with you I enjoy everything double) – can one describe love any better. Juntunen’s and Hakala’s duet was stunningly beautiful. When two colleagues, who have often sung together and seemingly enjoy singing together look at each other, smile and sing beautifully about love, the effect is shattering. I noticed that I was smiling widely at the end of the concert and I practically floated two feet above the ground on my way home. And that is the sing of a truly great concert!