Body and Soul
Ian Fitzgerald on medicine and music for 'The Creation'
A work by the great Austrian composer, Joseph Haydn, forms the intriguing centrepiece for this month's celebration of the life and work of John Hunter, the founding father of modern surgery, on the 200th anniversary of his death. The performance of Haydn's choral work 'The Creation', organised by the Royal College of Surgeons, will be held at the Royal Festival Hall on September 15th, as part of Eurosurgery '95, the third annual congress of European surgery.
This is an especially apt tribute as not only was Haydn a friend of Hunter, but the libretto for this performance is a newly discovered one, written by Hunter's wife Anne.
While this version has never before been performed, other collaborations between Anne Hunter and Haydn are well known. She was an accomplished poet and Haydn set several of her verses to music, including 'O Tuneful Voice', her farewell eulogy for his last visit to Britain in 1795. Not to be outdone, she is also the subject of the annual Hunterian lecture, also on the 15th, at the Royal College of Surgeons.
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