From chaos to creation

The origin of the world defies all imagination. The Zug-based Cantori Contenti Choir is approaching this enigma musically: in their "Vers la flamme" programme at the St. Johannes Church in Zug, the choir performs excerpts from Haydn's oratorio "The Creation", among other pieces.
 

The fascination of the cosmos is defined, among other things, by its spatial and temporal dimensions, which are incomprehensible to the human mind. Humanity, which is barely 300,000 years old, is the proverbial ‘drop in the ocean’ in the history of the universe, a mere flash within the entire timeline. Full of curiosity, humankind explores the infinite expanse of space, feeling its way forward with ever more advanced means. Will we ever discover what existed before the Big Bang? Or will humanity remain scientifically bound to the shackles of its own mortality?

While all this may surpass our imagination, the artistic path to exploring the unknown still remains: The Zug-based choir Cantori Contenti approaches the origin of all being through music. At its major concert on the weekend of March 14, the choir will perform, among other pieces, excerpts from one of the great oratorios in music history – Joseph Haydn's "The Creation" from 1798, a late work by the former Esterházy court composer.

Dedicated to the origin of all being: the Zug Cantori Contenti Choir.            Photo: supplied.
 

Individual choral movements with piano accompaniment
The oratorio's libretto is based primarily on Genesis, describing the creation of the world, the development of animals and humans, and the biblical story of Adam and Eve. "The Creation" is considered one of the few works in music history that seriously attempts to musically narrate the origin of the world itself.

The fact that the Cantori Contenti have included 'The Creation' in their current concert programme has a backstory: the Zug choir and the Lucerne vocal ensemble (Luzerner Vokalensemble) of the Lucerne City Orchestra (StadtorchesterLuzern) jointly performed Haydn's Oratorio at the KKL Lucerne in 2024. The collaboration was experienced as being musically and personally enriching – as the choir director describes it – and so the Cantori Contenti felt the desire to perform parts of this work again in the Canton of Zug. But as a full production with orchestra and soloists was not financially feasible, they decided to present selected choral movements with piano accompaniment, and to supplement the programme with other works.

On the road to chaos
The “Vers la flamme” programme (Towards the Flame) was thereby created. It includes thematic chapters on the origin of the cosmos, the solar system, life, and humanity – and on the path towards chaos, (towards the flame). In addition to the above-mentioned excerpts from Haydn's "The Creation," the programme includes works by Bartók, Boulanger, Crumb, and Scriabin, among others. Davide Fior, the musical director of the Cantori Contenti, describes it as sonically capturing "the fascination and the sense of vertigo before the highly complex construct of the universe." He further explains that the visual narrative thread illuminates the many facets of a musical programme in dialogue with science from various perspectives.

The eponymous work, "Vers la flamme" (Towards the Flame), is by Alexander Scriabin, who wrote it in the conviction that our planet would one day be consumed by flames. But Davide  Fior notes that the flame symbolically represents several other aspects of our existence and the present.

How to interpret the symbol of the flame is something the audience can decide for themselves at the Cantori Contenti choir's concert "Vers la flamme" at 8 pm on Saturday, 14th March, and from 7 pm on Sunday, 15 March in the St. Johannes Church in the Herti area, Zug.
Admission is free (donations welcome).

Detailed information about the program and content (partly im English) can be found on: www.chor.ch