Credo

Credo is a setting of the Nicene Creed, a profession of faith confessed by adherents of Christianity. It is so named because it was adopted in incipient form at the first ecumenical council of the early church held in the city of Nicaea in 325 AD. The Creed was written to settle controversies over the nature of the divinity of Jesus Christ and to expound authoritatively the Christian concept of one God subsisting as a Trinity of divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As the text unfolds, it addresses the nature of each of the three Persons.

My setting balances the requirements of a concert work with one that might be suitable for liturgical use. This latter feature is reflected in the two solo incipits quoting original chant melodies, and in the use of certain techniques of Renaissance counterpoint associated with polyphonic Masses. At heart, though, this is a concert work, focused on highlighting the possibilities of dramatic contrast the text offers, while also striving to evoke some of the timelessness of this very ancient text.

From the composer's notes to In This Place (Enharmonic Records, 2013).