Course
MUSC-313: Styles and Literature II
Document Type
Student Paper
Publication Date
2018
Disciplines
Music
Description, Abstract, or Artist's Statement
The English Enlightenment was an all encompassing ideology, affecting many different fields such as science, religion, and the arts. Focus on supernatural stories and divine miracles gave way to rational thought, furthering science and promoting stories about the triumphs of humanity. Music was likewise affected by this new movement, catering itself to the interests of society; instead of depicting humanity as sinful and ignorant, compositions centered on the glory of creation and the strength and intellect of humanity. Haydn’s Creation Oratorio is a prime example of Enlightenment values, depicting the creation story as a triumph of both God and man together. However, because Haydn’s career was at the end of the Enlightenment era, his compositions often reflect elements of Romanticism. The Creation, while primarily an Enlightened work, has notions of Romantic era compositional techniques, reflecting its place in time and compositional ingenuity.
Augustana Digital Commons Citation
Croft, Amy; Roselieb, Abigail; and Dwyer, Grace K.. "The Bridge Between Eras: How Haydn’s Creation Oratorio Displays both Enlightened and Romantic Qualities" (2018). 2018 Festschrift: Franz Josef Haydn's "The Creation".
https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/muschaydn/2
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.