Creation/Creator

Creation/Creator is an oratorio for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass, chorus, and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Theofanidis. The work was commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and was first performed on April 23, 2015 by the soprano Jessica Rivera, mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor, tenor Thomas Cooley, baritone Nmon Ford, bass Evan Boyer, the actors Steven Cole and Shannon Eubanks, and the Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Orchestra under the conductor Robert Spano.[1][2][3]

Composition

Creation/Creator has a duration of approximately 75 minutes and is composed in 13 movements:

  1. Elephant in the Dark
  2. God-Tapestry
  3. Pan Gu and the Egg-Shaped Cloud
  4. Laboratories of the Universe
  5. In the Eternal
  6. This Dream, Strange and Moving
  7. Two Girls
  8. Ms. Margaret Cavendish
  9. Between Green Thread and Broccoli
  10. The Creation
  11. An Angel in the Marble
  12. The Music it Makes
  13. All Things Bound in a Single Book

The music combines elements rock and roll, world music, and classical music.[1] The text of the piece is drawn from various sources, including the legend of Pangu from Chinese mythology and the works of the American author James Weldon Johnson.[2]

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere performance, Mark Gresham of ArtsATL highly praised the piece, writing, "Theofanidis may well have himself a landmark work in Creation/Creator. It is only superficially akin to Haydn's Creation in theme as an oratorio. While Haydn's work dealt with human creativity only as a subtext to the Biblical creation story, it is central to Theofanidis' oratorio. If considered only from a point of the composer's choices of texts alone, it is a work that will spark the interest of contemporary audiences."[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Young, Andrew (April 23, 2015). "Atlanta Symphony Orchestra premieres Creation/Creator: A piece by Christopher Theofanidis explores mankind's genesis". Atlanta. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Gresham, Mark (April 25, 2015). "Review: World premiere of Theofanidis' oratorio shows ASO, Spano at the peak of power". ArtsATL. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  3. ↑ "ASO to Premiere Christopher Theofanidis' CREATION/CREATOR, 4/23 & 25". Broadway World. April 20, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
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