Krzysztof Penderecki - Credo (Antoni Wit)

Information

Composer: Krzysztof Penderecki

1. Credo: I. Credo in unum Deum
2. Credo: II. Qui porpter nos homines
3. Credo: III. Et incarnatus est
4. Credo: IV. Crucifixus
5. Credo: V. Crucem tuam adoramus, Domine
6. Credo: VI. Et resurrexit tertia die
7. Credo: VII. Et in Spiritum Sanctum
8. Credo: VIII. Confiteor unum baptisma
9. Credo: IX. Et vitam venturi saeculi
10. Cantata in honorem Almae Martis Universitatis Iagelloniace sescentos abhinc annos fundatae

Iwona Hossa, soprano

Aga Mikołaj, soprano

Ewa Wolak, alto

Rafał Bartmiński, tenor

Remigiusz Łukomski, bass

Warsaw Boys Choir

Warsaw Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra

Antoni Wit, conductor

Date: 2010

Label: Naxos

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Review

Antoni Wit’s Penderecki series for Naxos has been uniformly excellent, and this latest installment is no exception. Credo, which was commissioned by Helmut Rilling and the Oregon Bach Festival, is a wholly approachable and largely optimistic work. Many of its ideas, such as the oboe solo in the first movement, are strikingly beautiful in a traditional, melodic way, and while much of the music is slowish and devotional, there is more than enough color and variety to sustain interest. The percussion writing in the eighth movement is particularly arresting, but then the work is full of characterful and always text-sensitive ideas.

As we have come to expect from this source, the singing is excellent. Penderecki’s vocal writing can be treacherous in its exploitation of extremes of high and low, and Wit invariably chooses soloists who are up to the challenge. Both of the sopranos (Iwona Hossa and Aga Mikolaj), as well as bass Remigiusz Lukomski, do a fine job with music that can sound really ungrateful. The choirs sing magnificently and the orchestra plays with total conviction. Naxos’ engineering is spacious but also detailed.

The cantata was composed in 1964 to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the founding of the Jagellonian University outside Krakow. Only six and a half minutes long, it comes from the composer’s more avant-garde period and features the usual range of evocative vocal and orchestral effects. It’s as well performed as Credo–and it makes a nice filler in that having these two pieces together offers an enjoyable view of Penderecki’s stylistic range over a roughly 30-year period. Top recommendation.

— David Hurwitz

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Krzysztof Penderecki (23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer. After graduating from the Academy of Music in Kraków, he began teaching there and gained international recognition. His innovative compositions, characterized by experimental sonorities and distinctive orchestral techniques, include Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, St. Luke Passion, Anaklasis, Utrenja and Polish Requiem. His output also include 5 operas, 8 symphonies, concertos, chamber works and numerous choral compositions. Penderecki received many prestigious honors, including 4 Grammy Awards.

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Antoni Wit (born 7 February 1944) is a Polish conductor. Educated in conducting at the Academy of Music in Kraków and in Paris under Nadia Boulanger, he also holds a law degree from Jagiellonian University. Following success at the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition, he led major Polish orchestras, serving as director of the Warsaw Philharmonic from 2001 to 2013 and later as music director of Spain's Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra. Wit has made over 200 records, earning numerous international awards, including a GRAMMY Award, for his acclaimed interpretations of Polish and classical repertoire.

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