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March 22, 2006
Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) — by Henryk Górecki
One of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I have ever listened to.
Górecki composed it in Katowice, Poland during the final three months of 1976 and dedicated it to his wife.
It was first performed in April of the following year by the orchestra of South–West German Radio in Baden–Baden.
The recording I have (CD cover pictured above) features soprano Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta conducted by David Zinman.
Along with Beethoven's Ninth and Mahler's Fourth, this is one of the three symphonies I hope to hear in person before I die.
The CD is $13.98 at Amazon.
An interview with the composer is here.
March 22, 2006 at 02:01 PM | Permalink
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Comments
You have to hear them in person before you die. (Well, you don't HAVE to, but what a shame it would be not to.) The experience of suiting up and showing up at the concert hall changes things. (And by the way, contrary to what some musical friends of mine say, there's not a thing in this world wrong with listening with your eyes, too.)
The first time I heard the Gorecki I was unmoved, but time or maturity (laugh here) or something changed that, and I do love it. Dawn Upshaw's voice on that recording is impeccable, as always. Speaking of impeccable voices, a recommendation: I heard the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir live for the first time two weeks ago. I've heard tons of every kind of vocal music live, but I've never heard anything quite like them -- it's the most amazing intonation and general musicianship I've ever heard in a choir. If they come to a city or town near you, run, do not walk, for tickets. They are something special. Or, you can always hear them canned. Most of their music is unfamiliar to most people, but start anywhere -- you won't be disappointed. (I can't guarantee that, but almost.)
At any rate, hie thee to M's Fourth and B's Ninth as soon as feasible.
Posted by: Flutist | Mar 22, 2006 5:20:40 PM
Thats an oldie but a goodie.
I originally owned this on tape and almost wore it out before some thugs broke into my car and stole all my music. They kept the hiphop, but threw this on the ground and left it to get run over by passing autos. Honestly, I wish they would have kept this one and learned to appreciate it.
The CD upgrade was a much better purchase and you could hear the fragility in the music as well as the long drones as they slide in and out of the audible range -- hell, one of the complaints of Gorecki is that he is too much of a product of the modern synthesizer (regardless of when this was composed) due to the incredibly long and evolving drones used in this piece -- and Upshaws voice works perfectly with it.
If you like this (as I reach to try to remember the contents of this disc), you'd probably love the Kronos Quartet's Black Angels. The first half of this disc is almost and antithesis to this one, but the last half should leave you happy. Along with this, Charles Ives' the Unanswered Question fits into this type of music with its longing calls and echos.
Good choice of music Joe!
Posted by: clifyt | Mar 22, 2006 3:58:53 PM
