After his nearly three-decade commission as court Kapellmeister to the Esterházy princes came to an end in 1790, Joseph Haydn accepted two invitations to England. During his visits, he became familiar with Handel's oratorios, the method of contrapuntal composition and the use of a chorus, until then unfamiliar to him. Influenced by these experiences, he composed his two vast oratorios, The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801), in which he not only furthered Handel's traditions, but also blended them into perfect harmony with the stylistic characteristics of his own era, the classical Viennese School. Rather than elaborating religious or mythological themes, The Seasons - for the first time in the history of music - introduced to the stage simple people living at one with nature, carrying out their day-to-day labours, and experiencing sorrow, joy and love. The oratorio has no storyline as such. Its characters - Simon the honest farmer (bass), Hanne the young girl (soprano), Lucas the peasant lad (tenor) and the chorus - do not represent real personalities, but rather archetypes, who share with us their experiences of the changing of the seasons, the phenomena of nature and the course of everyday life, as well as the lessons to be drawn from all these things.

Presented by: MÁV Symphony Orchestra