Though its follow-up The Seasons runs it close, Haydn's 1798 oratorio The Creation is surely his greatest achievement, a work whose Genesis-based resume of the world's first seven days has an appeal beyond religious beliefs and scientific understanding, and in which he displayed all the skills he had learned over a lifetime of composition.

Paul McCreesh was in charge of this Prom performance, intelligently scaled to the size of the Royal Albert Hall, and not without historical precedent; Haydn's first performances also used substantial choral and orchestral forces. Here, in a version founded on the strengths of the Gabrieli Consort and Players – on excellent form – plus additional choristers from Chetham's School of Music in Manchester and from Wrocław, the great choruses possessed a weight that never impeded movement or clarity.

The soloists, too, were apportioned on a generous scale, with the fresh voices of bass Peter Harvey and soprano Sophie Bevan arriving in Part 3 to take up the roles of Adam and Eve, often added to the workload of the singers of the Angels Gabriel and Raphael heard earlier on. Here Rosemary Joshua's buoyant soprano Gabriel was evenly matched by the lyrical gravitas of bass Neal Davies's Raphael, with Mark Padmore's tenor motivating the part of Uriel with finely pointed delicacy.

McCreesh has revised the oratorio's familiar but ancient English translation, which reads oddly in places. His improvements deserve to become standard for the next 200 years; his enthusiastic approach kept textures clear, and the weightiest passages danced. Only an occasional ponderousness in slow tempo impeded a nigh-on impeccable account.

The Proms continue until 12 September. Details: www.bbc.co.uk/proms