Numerous sacred works composed by Krzysztof Penderecki were among the ways in which he communicated with God. The composer owed his deep and natural faith to his family home. He was inspired by the Catholic religious tradition, but he also drew on Jewish Kaddish and Old Church Slavonic texts. His openness to cultural diversity was attributable to his origins – Armenian, German, and Polish blood flowed in his veins. Of no less significance was the place where he was born in 1933. Before the war, Dębica was a small town inhabited mainly by a Hasidic community. Thus, the future composer was surrounded by the sounds of klezmer music, whose distant echoes can be heard in his later works, including his final ones. 

Sacred works appeared in Penderecki’s oeuvre very early on, beginning with the 1959 Psalms of David. However, the work that brought the young assistant at the Kraków Academy of Music international fame was the St. Luke Passion, on which Penderecki worked from 1963 to 1966. Penderecki himself regarded the idea of composing a Passion at the age of thirty, with his characteristic irony, as proof of bravado and a lack of humility.¹¹ Credo was composed three decades later. Penderecki worked on it from 1996 to 1998, this time with full awareness of the significance of the subject he was addressing. When accepting the commission from the distinguished German conductor Helmuth Rilling, a friend of his in private life, Penderecki already possessed all the necessary resources to create a work capable of moving followers of various religions and non-believers alike, as well as music theorists and complete laymen. To understand why, alongside the St. Luke Passion, Credo is considered one of his most significant sacred works, it is necessary to look at it from two perspectives. For its author, the most important factor was its character as a personal confession of faith. For listeners, Credo is clear in its message and accessible on an emotional level, while deeper analysis allows us to appreciate its other qualities: precision of construction, sophisticated instrumentation, and conscious references to several centuries of tradition. 

Initially, Credo was intended to be the third movement of a musical setting of the Mass. However, the additions – traditional songs and hymns, as well as the treatment of the main text – caused the work to grow into an autonomous composition, becoming a synthesis of the complete Mass cycle. Penderecki consciously went beyond the sphere of purely theological message and the severity and precision of dogma, seeking to make the statement more personal. The addition of elements that heighten the work’s dramaturgical dimension was also a conscious decision. These include, above all, alternating statements by God and man, suggesting a dialogue, as in the successive fragments Popule meus – Któryś za nas – Ludu, mój ludu – Aus tiefer Not. Another factor is the emphasis placed on specific words, particularly Latin verbs, which, in relation to Christ, convey the essence of the history of salvation and its impact on human life.²² 

The power of the first words of the Creed, ‘I believe in one God’ [Latin: credo in unum Deum], lies in their simplicity, certainty, and rejection of doubt. It is no coincidence that the text of the composition is intertwined with music performed by a large and powerful ensemble. Penderecki employed a device already known in the Baroque period, used by composers such as Handel, Bach, and Monteverdi. Today, the monumental sound of the orchestra and choirs still evokes a sense of awe in listeners, and in some even inspires a ‘fear of God’ and humility before the power of His Majesty. By contrast, the lyrical expression of the vocal parts emphasises the closeness and intensity of the relationship between God and man.  

Can art make us appreciate the beauty of the world despite its imperfections? Penderecki’s music does not merely strike the chords of superficial tenderness, joy, and delight; it does not paint idyllic landscapes, nor does it tell unambiguous stories. Rather, it provides a pretext for reflection on the power of the human mind, which has been taming the unknown through the power of faith for centuries. Among the sacred compositions created over several hundred years, Penderecki’s Credo is one that turns listeners into confidants, confronting them with an intimate confession to which one cannot remain indifferent. It is the authenticity and humility present on every page of its score that point the way in the search for meaning, regardless of one’s professed religion. 

Penderecki: Credo | Klauza | 23.11.2026, 19:00
Filharmonia Narodowa Warszawa – Sala Koncertowa
ul. Sienkiewicza 10, 00-950 Warszawa

Festiwal Muzyka Polska odNova (Penderecki: Credo | Klauza) | 20.11.2026, 19:30
Filharmonia im. Karola Szymanowskiego, Kraków – Sala Koncertowa im. prof. J. Katlewicza
ul. Zwierzyniecka 131-103 Kraków

Festiwal Muzyka Polska odNova (Penderecki: Credo | Klauza) | 21.11.2026, 18:00
Filharmonia im. Karola Szymanowskiego, Kraków – Sala Koncertowa im. prof. J. Katlewicza
ul. Zwierzyniecka 131-103 Kraków

Penderecki: Credo | Klauza | 6.12.2026, 18:00
Dom Kultury Mors w Dębicy
ul. Sportowa 28, 39-200 Dębica

1. Kinga Wojciechowska, Krzysztof Penderecki: Moja muzyka przyciąga niewierzących, Portal Presto, 23.11.2023, https://prestoportal.pl/krzysztof-penderecki-moja-muzyka-przyciaga-niewierzacych (dostęp 25.08.2026).  ↩︎
2. Krzysztof Cyran, Wielka synteza – od dogmatu do dramatu. O „Credo” Krzysztofa Pendereckiego, „Teoria Muzyki” 2019, nr 14, s. 96. ↩︎