# Arvo Pärt's Credo



## lehnert (Apr 12, 2016)

So, I recently attended a concert in Warsaw. It started pretty nice, with Haydn's Farewell Symphony and Beethoven's Triple Concerto. After the break they played Songs of Farewell by Delius and then they started playing Credo for a huge orchestra (I even remember seeing two bass clarinets and two contrabassoons), piano and choir by Arvo Pärt.

It started OK, but after several minutes it just kept getting worse and worse, up to the point where I was sitting there thinking 'What the hell is this thing? Is this for real?' And seriously, can anyone enjoy music like that? What is it even supposed to be? Isn't it just insane noise? And then quote from Bach's Prelude came, interupted by more dissonance, and I just completely lost it. What are you doing, Arvo?!

I have listened to some other Pärt's compositions and all of them were pretty calm, minimalistic works. I would have never expected him writing something like that. I think it's just pure madness.

I would be very interested to hear what you think about this piece.

Below, I am linking the fragment I'm referring to (a minute or so from 8:09).


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Pärt composed Credo in 1968 meaning to express his artistic frustrations.


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## pokeefe0001 (Jan 15, 2017)

That was written before he developed his later style of composition. If you expect the latter Pärt you will, of course, be very disappointed. But taken by itself, I think it is a very interesting work. I suspect it represents Pärt's dissatisfaction with both the direction of music and the direction of religion - his disappointment and a resolution. We hear both the Bach prelude and the text of the Credo gradually dissolve into cacophony and then gradually emerge again. Interesting and powerful.

I had never heard that (or any early Pärt). I'm glad this thread brought it to my attention.


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