Press

(Translated from the German)

Opening Doors An Ecumenical Credo in Cologne Cathedral

"Open the Doors!" – Under this motto, a service was held on September 26, 2025, as part of the traditional three-day pilgrimage to Cologne Cathedral, marking a truly ecumenical milestone. At the heart of the service was unity among Christians. Greek Orthodox Archpriest Constantin Miron spoke in his sermon about the binding power of a shared confession of faith.

A musical highlight of the service was the premiere of the intercultural composition Credo: Six Composers – Six Parts – One Christian Faith. Six composers—men and women from Great Britain, Japan, Sweden, Ukraine, and the USA—were commissioned to create six independent works based on the historic Nicene Creed, which was established nearly 1,700 years ago.

Written in 325 and revised in 381 at the Council of Constantinople, the creed remains the fundamental statement of faith that unites Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Protestants. As a result, the musical center of the service in Cologne Cathedral was shared by three distinct choirs: the vocal ensemble of Cologne Cathedral under the direction of Eberhard Metternich, the chamber choir of the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln under Christoph Prégardien, and the Evangelical project choir "Kölner Kantorei" under Windfried Krane. Singing alternating parts—sometimes together, sometimes individually—they interpreted the six movements published by Carus-Verlag, lending the service a profound musical and spiritual depth.

The service opened with Swedish composer Mårten Jansson, who set the first section in his signature harmonically dense, tonally grounded, and largely homophonic style. Following the "Et incarnatus est," Japanese composer Keiko Harada took over. With spherically shifting harmonic textures, highly contrasting soundscapes, and expressive vocal techniques, she brought a uniquely modern tonal language to the piece. This stylistic shift—within a shared collaborative work—was clearly evident. The third part was then taken over by the British composer Grayston Ives, who transitioned the work into the "Crucifixus".

His tonal language was the most conventional of the group: pleasing, seasoned, and as pleasant to sing as it was to hear. In a minimalist fashion, Ukrainian composer Victoria Vita Poleva set the "Et resurrexit". She writes an internalized music that avoids massive, explosive fireworks for the Resurrection, choosing instead to let Easter joy blossom gradually through a long, sustained crescendo.

The penultimate piece in the cycle was composed by Argentine composer Martín Palmeri, who took charge of the "Et in Spiritum Sanctum". He relies on melodic fluidity, beautifully resonant melismas, and a highly sophisticated dramatic structure. The final words were set by the American Dominick DiOrio, concluding with an obligatory final fugue and a powerful, impactful ending.

Throughout the entire service, doors served as a central symbol. In his address, Constantin Miron referenced the liturgy of the early Church, where the call "The doors, the doors, let us attend in wisdom!" would ring out. This historical reference highlighted that for a long time, the Eucharist was only accessible to those who were baptized; the closed doors symbolized a separation from the outside world. Today, however, Miron emphasized that the doors should remain wide open.

Guido Krawinkel