Review / Comments ::

Henryk Górecki: Symphony No. 3
(Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)
And "Three Olden Style Pieces"

I was introduced to this composition through a challenge to identify a piece of music, which turned out to be the 3rd movement of this Symphony. While upon first listening, it seemed a rather unremarkable work, as I listened again and concentrated on the nuances of tempo and harmony, I found myself not being able to get enough of it. There is something truly mesmerizing and hypnotic in this music.

As I searched for the entire work, I found two versions that were highly recommended. One with soprano Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta; the other, with soprano Zofia Kilanowicz and the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Each of these recordings has merit, and both Ms. Upshaw & Ms. Kilanowicz are superb vocalists. However...I find the work, as performed by the Polish Radio Symphony and Ms. Kilanowicz, indescribably more appealing. Perhaps a combination of the subtly slower tempo utilized by conductor Antoni Wit... and the fact that Ms Kilanowicz is a native speaker (singer) of Polish, combine to produce a recording that, to this reviewer, evokes more of the feeling and emotion that inspired Górecki to compose this ethereally beautiful symphony.

I will not go into detail concerning the words and meaning of the songs. This is best left for the listener to discover.

Henryk Górecki: Three Olden Style Pieces

These three incidental works were composed shortly after the 3rd Symphony. Combining both Górecki's exploration of Polish Folk Music idioms, and his innate "Modernist" style of "Minimalism", these works will appeal to both those who yearn for more traditional aspects of Classical Music, and those who seek to explore music that transcends "that which has come before".

Misc. Information ::

London Version:

Recorded May 1991 at CTS Studios, London, England

Dawn Upshaw, Soprano
London Sinfonietta
David Zinman, Conductor

Polish Version:

Recorded December 1993 in the Concert Hall of the Polish Radio in Katowice

Zofia Kilanowicz, Soprano
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice)
Antoni Wit, Conductor

Album Copyright Information ::

London Version:

© 1992 Elektra Nonesuch

Polish Version:

© 1994 & 2001 HNH International Ltd.

Review Date ::

Reviewed: January 2005
Last Updated: 04/25/2005

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