Recorded in Cologne in July 2003 by German Radio, this issue offers a first-rate period performance of Haydn's masterpiece, lively and well sung. Since other issues of Die Schöpfung in the super-budget category use modern instruments it fills an important gap, particularly as the digital sound is so clear and transparent.
Andreas Spering successfully brings out the composer's eternal freshness.
The prelude representing Chaos is taken slowly, markedly more so than by Gardiner or Brüggen, but that brings out all the more the abrasiveness of Haydn's daring dissonances.
After the extreme hush of that opening the choral cry of 'Licht' is shattering in its impact; in the following tenor aria Spering shows his true colours in a crisp, faster-than-usual Andante that's exhilaratingly carefree, not least at the felicitous passage, marked sotto voce, when the chorus sings of 'eine neue Welt'. His speeds are generally on the fast side, but when, as in the prelude, the marking is Largo as opposed to Andante or Adagio, he takes a measured view.
The Cologne Vocal Ensemble is a relatively compact body, incisive in its attack, and set in a helpful but not over-large acoustic. The three soloists are all excellent and youthful-sounding.
An outstanding bargain.