The list of Krzysztof Penderecki’s sacred music is not so much long as it is formidable. Some have deemed him the greatest composer of sacred music in the world. (If we don’t want to go that far, he is certainly one of an elite few.) Penderecki’s first sacred work was the passionate Psalms of David in 1958. He did a Stabat Mater in 1962 and St. Luke Passion in 1965. Credo (1997/98) is his first mass–and what a mass it is! Credo is for five soloists, children’s choir, mixed choir, and full orchestra, and it’s the work’s orchestral matrix that gives it its power and majesty. Credo is not just solemn, in the tradition of many works in the genre, but also is remarkably celebratory, exuberant, and, in a curious way, vivacious. Credit for the success of this recording must largely go to the sonics that ideally capture a stunning, robust performance by the Warsaw Philharmonic and the National Choir of Poland. One thing listeners may agree on is that this Penderecki work is among the composer’s best–ditto for the performance.
