La première audition française de l'oratorio de Joseph Haydn "La Création (Die Schöpfung)" à Lille, le 12 brumaire an IX (3 novembre 1800)

This paper focuses on the musical and social environment of the first French performance of Joseph Haydn's oratorio Die Schopfung, which took place in Lille, on 3 november 1800. The programme of the concert, the French translation of the german libretto and the manuscript copy of the full score by Ambroise Femy, conductor at the local theater, are successively analysed. Several instrumental additions in the copy reveal significant aspects of musical taste in northen France provinces by this time. How the score arrived in the region is still a matter for speculation. The 1800 performance was organised by the Societe du Concert , established in 1726, whose members were (in vain) trying to get back to the spirit of the Ancien Regime after the Revolution. A close examination of subscribers' lists shows the evolution of the society's structures and common practices, and underlines the apparition of industrial patronage in such institutions

Art · Humanities · Musical · Oratorio · Visual arts · Cultural Identity and Heritage · Historical Influence and Diplomacy · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis