CREDO by ORCHESTRA DI PIAZZA VITTORIO

CREDO
by Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio
interfaith oratorio

«No peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions.” Theologian Hans Küng wrote this some years back but its current relevance is plain for all to see. Measuring oneself against different cultural and religious directives has become all the more a necessity, and a greater number of artists are reflecting on this aspect of human coexistence. Credo seeks to find a musical definition for the expression “intercultural dialogue”, an interfaith oratorio including texts both written and selected by José Tolentino Mendonça, accompanied by original music by the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio, music by Gioachino Rossini, Benjamin Britten, Guillame de Machaut, as well as Sufi songs and re-arranged religious compositions.

It is a work for nine performers from completely different backgrounds and calls for the use of unique instruments such as the kora, a harp-lute widely played in West Africa, and the oud, an Arabic instrument from the lute family, accompanied by more familiar “voices” like the cello and electric bass, and the organ, the traditional instrument in western sacred music, with a dash of electronic resonance.
It adds up to an intimate prayer, by no means traditional. The musical composition, in fact, doesn’t follow any specific codified references to Masses or oratorios, but rather it comes into being through a sequence of passages from texts, mostly original works by José Tolentino Mendonça, that are rendered through music with extreme stylistic freedom.

Regarding the structure, no one style has been favored over another. Cultural references to Western backgrounds can certainly be found in the Credo, but these interweave with diverse evocative proposals that come from afar but are examined closely, so avoiding the touch of the exotic that often seems to create immense distances. A complex work that cannot be classified into any one distinct style because it finds its own raison d’être in the combination of languages. A challenge that attempts to bring together continents that differ in their cultures, in their sounds, and in their histories. And perhaps in this endeavor, Credo finds its greatest moment of modernity in light of current events.

The birth of the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio, in 2002, was propelled by cultural drivers with the intent of shining light and bring value to the city square that bears the same name, in Rome. The Orchestra promotes artistic research and the integration of different musical repertoire.The Orchestra has released five records, and has held over 1500 concerts in cities throughout the world.