In 1950 I had my first lessons in music history, from Dr Sydney Watson. He chose The Creation as one of the great landmarks of European music. He spoke of it warmly but defensively. But for me it needed no defence, as I had immediately fallen in love with it.

After an intervening period, when I thought I was learning to look at music more dispassionately, Edward Olleson's article of 1968 aroused my interest in the English text, that butt of so many green-room and vestry chuckles. I was led to write an article on the subject, and then to publish a new edition, where I tried to deal with the text problem from first principles. Such a background could well explain this book's distinctly English slant, which will not escape the reader's notice. But I maintain that the English aspect is exactly the one that has been unduly neglected in the long history of Creation criticism and scholarship. At the same time I have tried to make this a balanced survey; I hope that no significant aspect of the oratorio has been slighted.

I owe a considerable debt to Edward Olleson, for reasons already given; to Susan Homewood of Peters Edition (London), for drawing attention to some interesting anomalies in the course of revising my edition; to Valerie Goertzen, for assisting me in my research; to A. Peter Brown, for telling me about some of his discoveries before they appeared in print; to David Gilbert, for examining the Choudens vocal score in Paris; and to Stephen Whiting, for help with translations.