The Tolkien work published in 1977 that presents the creation of Arda and the history of its First Age is The Silmarillion.
The Silmarillion is a collection of interconnected mythic narratives edited and published posthumously by Tolkien’s son Christopher Tolkien. It opens with the Ainulindalë, describing the creation of the world through music, and continues with the shaping of Arda by the Valar.
Its central section, the Quenta Silmarillion, tells of the Silmarils, three jewels made by the Elf Fëanor. Their theft by Morgoth drives much of the tragedy and conflict of the First Age. The book also includes stories involving Beren and Lúthien, Túrin Turambar, and the fall of Gondolin.
The later sections cover the Second Age and events near the end of Tolkien’s mythological history. Because Tolkien revised these materials repeatedly, Christopher Tolkien assembled the published volume from drafts, notes, and alternate versions.
The Silmarillion is not a conventional single novel. Its elevated style and compressed chronology make it closer to a mythology or historical legendarium.