Hyperion Records

Commissioned by the 90th Deutsche Katholikentage in Berlin, 1990. The original version was for four solo voices and organ, but subsequent versions exist for choir and organ—as here—and choir and strings. The Credo is particularly interesting in that it is virtually a re-incarnation of the earlier Summa—but this time in a major key. Summa was written at a time when profession of faith was outlawed in Estonia; hence Pärt’s diversionary title for a setting of the Creed. The switch from minor to major clearly celebrates the greater freedoms enjoyed in post-Communist Europe.

from notes by Meurig Bowen © 1998