Music that Talks of God's Great Power
Before I start comparing their works, I would first like to give a brief background of both composers so we may interpret the reasoning behind the differences of their works, despite both works being based on the book of Genesis. Lucrecia Roces Kasilag was a Filipino composer and pianist. During World War II, she took up composition, and on December 1, 1945, she performed her own compositions in a concert at the Philippine Women's University. From 1946 to 1947, Kasilag taught at the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music and worked as secretary-registrar at Philippines Women's University. Kasilag was instrumental in developing Philippine music and culture. She founded the Bayanihan Folks Arts Center for research and theatrical presentations, and was closely involved with the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company. On the other hand, Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio. His contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet." Now that we have established who they are, we can now identify not only what the significant differences are between their works, but also why they were different in those ways.
For Kasilag’s parts 14, 15, and 16, we are going to be set in the fifth day of creation where God created the creatures and tamed the land. Part 14 says, “The Lord spoke and it was done, he commanded and it stood fast.” This is in contrast to The Creation Part II, Movement 20: “The Lord is great, and great His might. His glory lasts for ever and for evermore.” These lines talk about power: God’s power to make the world stop and go at will. The main difference between these two parts of their respective works would be that Kasilag is highlighting the word of God. “The Lord spoke and it was done.” All God needed to do was speak and all of nature “stood fast.” Kasilag in her composition shows God's might and power as a demonstration through words. On the other hand, Haydn’s lines, “The Lord is great, and great His might” speaks of God’s power as something that has been there forever. He talks about God’s power as if it is an established law of nature. It is something eternal and embedded into the universe itself, and it will last forever.
For part 15 of Kasilag’s work it says, “The voice of the Lord thunders The God of glory is upon many waters.” In comparison, Haydn’s work says, “And God said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” Here, the similarity in both works is that God commands the waters. Kasilag, however, focuses more on the vastness and the reach of the waters that God commands. She makes it seem like God’s power covers all the waters. In Haydn’s composition, it shows how the water moves to aid the rest of creation into falling into place, almost as if the waters were a servant of God carrying out his will.
For part 16 of Kasilag’s work, it says, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth// Who has set Thy glory above the heavens// For thou has made man a little// Lower than the angels// And has crowned Him with glory and honor.// Thou madest Him to have dominion// Over the works of Thy hands.// Thou has put all things under his Feet, all sheep and oxen, and// The beast of the field, the fowl of// The air, and the first of the sea..” While Haydn’s corresponding part says, “And God said: Let the earth bring forth living creature after his kind; cattle and creeping thing, and beasts of the earth after their kind.// Straight opening her fertile womb, the earth obey’d the word, and teem’d creatures numberless, in perfect forms and fully grown.// Cheerful, roaring, stands the tawny lion.// In sudden leaps the flexible tiger appears.// The nimble stag bears up his branching head.” Here, Haydn uses detailed imagery in his composition. He tries to display God’s glory through description and detail. In contrast to this, Kasilag directly praises God. Instead of describing, she tells of being in awe at the magnificence God displays. He brought life into the world from nothingness and his power is “above the heavens,” even higher the highest point (heaven is the highest point supposedly). She uses hyperbole in contrast to Haydn’s imagery.
We can conclude that Kasilag’s work is a much more modern interpretation written into a musical composition. I think her descriptions of creation were more centered around the ideas of God’s greatness, while in contrast Haydn’s composition was more centered around the reasons why God was so great. He was able to create in a way that displayed his omnipotence and power over the world, yet Haydn described it as a magnificent beautiful display of power. God created the subtle beauty that nature is. The Creation describes God’s power, while “In the Beginning” tells us of it.
Bibliography
“Lucrecia Roces Kasilag.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucrecia_Roces_Kasilag.
“Joseph Haydn.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn.