The oratorio Joseph Haydn titled Die Schöpfung (The Creation) was written between 1796 and 1798. Regarded by many as a masterpiece, the oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the biblical Book of Genesis and in Milton's Paradise Lost.

Haydn's inspiration to write a large oratorio came from his visits to England (1791–1792 and 1794–1795) where he heard oratorios of Handel performed by large forces. Haydn wished to achieve results of comparable power, using the musical language of the classical style.

The first public performance at the Burgtheater in Vienna on March 19, 1799 sold out far in advance. The Creation was performed nearly forty more times in the city during Haydn’s lifetime. It had its London premiere the next year, in an English translation, at the Covent Garden Theatre.

The Creation was also performed more than forty times outside Vienna during Haydn's lifetime: elsewhere in Austria and in Germany, England, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Russia. It even made a debut in the United States when the score was brought to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The highly musical Moravians copied the parts and performed a portion of the work in 1801.