Credo
Encyclopedia
A credo is a statement of belief, commonly used for religious belief
, such as the Apostles' Creed
. The term especially refers to the use of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (or less often, the Apostles' Creed) in the Mass
, either as text, Gregorian chant
, or other musical settings of the Mass
.
, its initial liturgical use was in baptism
, which explains why the text uses the singular "I ... instead of "we...." The text was gradually incorporated into the liturgies, first in the east and in Spain, and gradually into the north, from the sixth to the ninth century. In 1014 it was accepted by the Church of Rome as a legitimate part of the service. It is recited in the Western Mass directly after the homily
on all Sundays and Solemnities
(Tridentine
Feasts of the First Class), and in the
Eastern
Liturgy
following the Litany of Supplication on all occasions.
Probably because of its late adoption, and the length of the text (the longest in the Ordinary of the Mass
), there are relatively few chant settings of it. What is identified as "Credo I" in the Liber Usualis
was apparently widely considered the only authentic credo, and it is the element of the ordinary that was most strongly associated with a single melody. The Liber Usualis contains only two other settings, designated as "Credo V" and "Credo VI," which is far fewer than for other settings of the Ordinary.
In musical settings of the credo, as in the Gloria
, the first line is intoned by the celebrant alone (Credo in unum Deum), or by a soloist, while the choir or congregation joins in with the second line. This tradition continued through the Middle Ages
and Renaissance
, and is even followed in more recent settings. In Stravinsky
's Mass
, for example, a soloist intones the first line, which is from the plainchant Credo I. In Mass settings of the Classical and Romantic period (for example the High Mass in b minor of Bach
, the later Masses of Haydn, and the Missa Solemnis of Beethoven) the Credo line is usually set for whole choir.
The melody of Credo I first appears in eleventh-century manuscripts, but it is believed to be much older, and perhaps Greek in origin. It is almost entirely syllabic
, probably because of the length of the text, and consists of a great deal of repetition of melodic formulas.
In polyphonic settings of the Mass, the Credo is usually the longest movement, but is usually set more homophonically than other movements, probably because the length of the text demanded a more syllabic approach, as was seen with chant as well. A few composers (notably Heinrich Isaac
) have set Credos independently from the rest of the ordinary, presumably to allow their insertion into missae breves
or their omission where a said or chanted credo is the custom.
Settings of alternative texts as a Credo outside the Mass, as a motet, are extremely rare. The first published polyphonic settings of the Symbolum Apostolorum were settings by the French composer Le Brung in 1540, and two further settings by the Spanish composer Fernando de las Infantas
in 1578.
Religious belief
Religious belief is a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny. Such a state may relate to the existence, characteristics and worship of a deity or deities, divine intervention in the universe and human life, or values and practices centered on the teachings of a...
, such as the Apostles' Creed
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed , sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol"...
. The term especially refers to the use of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (or less often, the Apostles' Creed) in the Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
, either as text, Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
, or other musical settings of the Mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
.
History
After the formulation of the Nicene CreedNicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...
, its initial liturgical use was in baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, which explains why the text uses the singular "I ... instead of "we...." The text was gradually incorporated into the liturgies, first in the east and in Spain, and gradually into the north, from the sixth to the ninth century. In 1014 it was accepted by the Church of Rome as a legitimate part of the service. It is recited in the Western Mass directly after the homily
Homily
A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture. In Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a homily is usually given during Mass at the end of the Liturgy of the Word...
on all Sundays and Solemnities
Solemnity
A Solemnity of the Roman Catholic Church is a principal holy day in the liturgical calendar, usually commemorating an event in the life of Jesus, his mother Mary, or other important saints. The observance begins with the vigil on the evening before the actual date of the feast...
(Tridentine
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
Feasts of the First Class), and in the
Eastern
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
following the Litany of Supplication on all occasions.
Probably because of its late adoption, and the length of the text (the longest in the Ordinary of the Mass
Ordinary of the Mass
The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Eucharist or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed...
), there are relatively few chant settings of it. What is identified as "Credo I" in the Liber Usualis
Liber Usualis
The Liber Usualis is a book of commonly used Gregorian chants in the Catholic tradition, compiled by the monks of the Abbey of Solesmes in France....
was apparently widely considered the only authentic credo, and it is the element of the ordinary that was most strongly associated with a single melody. The Liber Usualis contains only two other settings, designated as "Credo V" and "Credo VI," which is far fewer than for other settings of the Ordinary.
In musical settings of the credo, as in the Gloria
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.It is an example of the psalmi idiotici "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")...
, the first line is intoned by the celebrant alone (Credo in unum Deum), or by a soloist, while the choir or congregation joins in with the second line. This tradition continued through the Middle Ages
Medieval music
Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...
and Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
, and is even followed in more recent settings. In Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's Mass
Mass (Stravinsky)
Igor Stravinsky composed his Mass between 1944 and 1948. This 19-minute setting of the Roman Catholic Mass exhibits the austere, Neoclassic, anti-Romantic aesthetic that characterizes his work from about 1923 to 1951. The Mass also represents one of only a handful of extant pieces by Stravinsky...
, for example, a soloist intones the first line, which is from the plainchant Credo I. In Mass settings of the Classical and Romantic period (for example the High Mass in b minor of Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
, the later Masses of Haydn, and the Missa Solemnis of Beethoven) the Credo line is usually set for whole choir.
The melody of Credo I first appears in eleventh-century manuscripts, but it is believed to be much older, and perhaps Greek in origin. It is almost entirely syllabic
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
, probably because of the length of the text, and consists of a great deal of repetition of melodic formulas.
In polyphonic settings of the Mass, the Credo is usually the longest movement, but is usually set more homophonically than other movements, probably because the length of the text demanded a more syllabic approach, as was seen with chant as well. A few composers (notably Heinrich Isaac
Heinrich Isaac
Heinrich Isaac was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer of south Netherlandish origin. He wrote masses, motets, songs , and instrumental music. A significant contemporary of Josquin des Prez, Isaac influenced the development of music in Germany...
) have set Credos independently from the rest of the ordinary, presumably to allow their insertion into missae breves
Missa Brevis
Missa brevis literally means "short mass" and can refer to different types of musical setting of the Mass. Modernly, Missa brevis is generally understood as a setting of parts of the ordinary mass...
or their omission where a said or chanted credo is the custom.
Text
This is the original Latin text used in chants and most modern settings of the Mass:- Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipoténtem, factorem cæli et terræ, visibílium ómnium et invisibílium.
- Et in unum Dóminum Iesum Christum, Fílium Dei unigénitum, et ex Patre natum, ante ómnia sæcula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lúmine, Deum verum de Deo vero, génitum, non factum, consubstantiálem Patri: per quem ómnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos hómines et propter nostram salútem descéndit de cælis. Et incarnátus est de Spíritu Sancto ex María Vírgine, et homo factus est. Crucifíxus étiam pro nobis sub Póntio Piláto; passus et sepúltus est, et resurréxit tértia die, secúndum Scriptúras, et ascéndit in cælum, sedet ad déxteram Patris. Et íterum ventúrus est cum glória, iudicáre vivos et mórtuos, cuius regni non erit finis.
- Et in Spíritum Sanctum, Dóminum et vivificántem: qui ex Patre FilióqueFilioque clauseFilioque , Latin for "and the Son", is a phrase found in the form of Nicene Creed in use in the Latin Church. It is not present in the Greek text of the Nicene Creed as originally formulated at the First Council of Constantinople, which says only that the Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father":The...
procédit. Qui cum Patre et Fílio simul adorátur, et conglorificátur: qui locútus est per Prophétas.
- Et unam, sanctam, cathólicam et apostólicam Ecclésiam.
- Confíteor unum baptísma in remissiónem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam ventúri sæculi. Amen.
Settings of alternative texts as a Credo outside the Mass, as a motet, are extremely rare. The first published polyphonic settings of the Symbolum Apostolorum were settings by the French composer Le Brung in 1540, and two further settings by the Spanish composer Fernando de las Infantas
Fernando de las Infantas
- Life :Infantas was born in Córdoba in 1534, a descendant of Juan Fernández de Córdoba who had conveyed the two daughters, infantas , of Pedro I of Castile to safety after the Battle of Montiel in 1369...
in 1578.