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of a serene and otherworldly musical style he calls “ tintinnabuli ” or “ little bells ,” often referred to by others as “ mystical minimalism .” As this deeply religious Russian Orthodox believer explains , “ I work with very few elements — with one voice , with two voices . I build with the most primitive materials — with the triad [ three-note chord ], with one specific tonality . The three notes of the triad are like bells . And that is why I call it tintinnabulation .” Audience members may remember this very beautiful and pareddown style from past performances by the BSO of his Tabula rasa and Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten .
Composed in 1968 before Pärt had adopted this “ tintinnabuli ” style , his Credo is something very different . To begin with , it is scored for masses of performers rather than just a few . The piece calls for a large mixed choir , a pianist and an oversized orchestra staffed with five percussionists as well as a timpanist . It is a dramatic battle between two contrary types of music : the dissonant twelve-tone serialist style popular in the 1960s and the classically pure tonality of a J . S . Bach ’ s Prelude in C Major from Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier . In the words of Pärt scholar Paul Hillier , “ Superficially , the work presents a confrontation between the forces of good and evil ” — “ good ” being represented by the tonal Bach and “ evil ” by the twelvetone dissonance .
The words are not the lengthy text of the liturgical “ Credo ” from the Mass .
Credo Text and Translation
Credo in Jesum Christum Audivistis dictum Oculum pro oculo Dentem pro dente
Autem ego vobis dico : Non esse resistendum injuriae
Credo Mattheus 5 , 38-39
Though they begin with that word , they then move to Jesus ’ words in the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 5 : “ You have heard it said : an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth . But I say unto you : do not resist evil .” This avowal of both religious belief and pacifist opposition to violence ignited a storm of protest by Soviet authorities at its 1968 premiere , though the Estonian audience loved the work .
The music begins serenely and tonally with the chorus singing the opening words in a simple harmonic pattern firmly grounded in C Major . When the pianist begins , we recognize the Bach Prelude it is based on . The pianist breaks off suddenly , and the orchestra starts to build from this tonal foundation a 12-tone row , which becomes more and more harsh , and ultimately violent . The chorus attempts to chant the text , but each syllable is assaulted by explosions of the 12-tone theme . This culminates in a passage of complete aleatory chaos , as orchestra and chorus improvise freely at top volume . Very slowly , low drones on the note C bring chaos back toward order . Credo concludes with the pianist returning to Bach , and the chorus triumphantly reasserting its belief in Christ ’ s words in resplendent C Major .
Instrumentation : Two flutes , two piccolos , two oboes , two clarinets , two bass clarinets , two bassoons , two contrabassoons , four horns , four trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , piano , strings .
I believe in Jesus Christ Ye have heard that it hath been said , An eye for an eye , And a tooth for a tooth :
But I say unto you , That ye resist not evil .
I believe Matthew 5 : 38-39
Symphony of Psalms
Igor Stravinsky
Born in Oranienbaum , Russia , June 17 , 1882 ; died in New York City , April 6 , 1971
Like many cosmopolitan creative figures , Igor Stravinsky withdrew from his ancestral faith of Russian Orthodox Christianity when he was 18 . A worldly and sophisticated man , he believed that organized religion held little relevance for him . But in 1926 , when he was 44 , he rediscovered his faith and became a more fervent believer than ever before . He became a regular communicant in the Orthodox Church , and his homes were soon filled with icons , votive candles and sacred relics . From this time on , he would see the precise formal construction of his compositions as a necessary reflection of the divine order . And , although it was by no means his only sacred work , his Symphony of Psalms , composed four years later in 1930 , became the greatest musical expression of his faith .
Serge Koussevitzky , music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra , did not originally have a sacred choral composition in mind when he commissioned Stravinsky to write a new symphonic work to commemorate the Orchestra ’ s 50 th anniversary in 1930 – 1931 . However , the composer was at this point fascinated with the Book of Psalms : “ The Psalms are poems of exaltation , but also of anger and judgment , and even of curses ,” he wrote . He chose portions of three Psalms — Psalms 38 , 39 and 150 — for his new work , using their Latin words as given in the Roman Catholic Vulgate Bible . And Stravinsky stressed the primacy of these Psalms to his whole conception : “[ This ] is not a symphony in which I have included Psalms to be sung . On the contrary , it is the singing of the Psalms that I am symphonizing .”
The composer wanted a very special sound for this work , one that was based on wind instruments , in this case , woodwinds and brass . Only cellos and double bass were used for strings ; violins and violas were eliminated . Stravinsky also banished the mellow-sounding clarinets ;
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