The World Council of Churches recently put out a call for musical settings of The Nicene Creed for their 2025 conference which will commemorate the 1700 years since the gathering at Nicea that produced this creed.
How could I say no?
I composed a setting of the Apostle’s Creed years ago but have never tackled the much longer Nicene Creed. Writing a song based on a text like this is daunting: there are no metrical patterns or rhymes to guide the music–just words.
I started by composing a very simple refrain of “We believe” to be sung before and after each section of the creed. This gives a congregation an easy way to engage the song right away. Each section–God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit–uses the verbatim text of the creed.
To shape this prose text into something singable I utilized lots of melodic sequences that are easy to follow even upon first hearing–this is no time for clever melodies with wide intervals! Music coherence is achieved by chains of harmonic progressions that give the music forward motion and repeated harmonies that give the ear some structure. Even though the setting is based on repetition and simplicity, I was able to throw in some interesting twists and turns that keep things fresh.
Who knows? Maybe this will be my big hit. I’m sure no one expected Malotte’s “Lord’s Prayer” would be so successful!
We believe in one God,
the Father, the almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
