When Haydn was writing his magnificent oratorio The Creation, he looked to the Book of Genesis and Milton’s Paradise Lost. But what if you referenced science instead of religion in order to celebrate the creation of the world?

This month, the Heidelberg Choral Society, a community choir in Melbourne, will premiere a new oratorio called Origins. Featuring a libretto by evolutionary geneticist Jenny Graves, who is a Distinguished Professor at La Trobe University, and poet Leigh Hay, with music by Nicholas Buc, Origins is the scientist’s answer to the beginning of life and evolution.

Nicholas Buc, dressed in a suit.

Nicholas Buc. Photo supplied

Featuring 100 singers, four soloists – soprano Lee Abrahamsen, contralto Liane Keegan, tenor Robert Macfarlane and bass-baritone Adrian Tamburini – and a 60-piece orchestra, Origins will have its world premiere at Melbourne Recital Centre.

Buc is an Australian composer, conductor and arranger, with over 20 years’ experience. He has composed orchestral and choral music, as well as scores for film and television. Speaking to Limelight, he explains how Origins came about.

“Jenny Graves sings with the Heidelberg Choral Society, a choir that...