Henryk Gorecki: Symphony 3 "Sorrowful Songs"
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Free Music Notes for Henryk Gorecki: Symphony 3 "Sorrowful Songs"
Free Music Review: an emotional masterwork
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm a huge fan of Dawn Upshaw and bought this CD without knowing anything about it. I'll admit that I wasn't blown away by it - at first. I thought: what is this? However, I found myself drawn to it again and again. Now I find myself becoming increasingly emotional while listening to it. It's very affecting music. Upshaw's voice seems a gift from Heaven. Buy it - listen to it - give it an opportunity to soak in - you'll come to cherish it. I did.Free Music Review: Minimal and intensely moving
Hit: 5 Stars
When this recording emerged in the early 1990's, it not only shot to the top of the classical charts, but to the top of some pop charts as well, an unusual phenomenon. It's not hard to see why; the composer's simple, but eloquent language here speaks to many types of listeners, even those who might not usually listen to so-called "serious" classical music. The symphony is in three slow-moving sections, all labeled "Lento" and with heartbreaking texts. As a sample, here are the words to the second movement, based on a message found scrawled on a Gestapo prison cell wall in 1944 by an 18-year-old girl:
No, Mother, do not weep,
Most chaste Queen of Heaven
Help me always.
Hail Mary.
The music accompanying these sometimes agonizingly sad words is shining, gleaming, radiant -- transforming what could be heard as unremitting despair into something more spiritually uplifting. Dawn Upshaw, singing in Polish, sounds gorgeous here, with the simple purity of her voice adding a great deal to David Zinman's unforced interpretation of the work. The renowned London Sinfonietta plays with a delicacy that suits the music, and the recording quality allows all this transparent peacefulness to shine through.
Those familiar with Arvo P?rt or John Tavener's slow-moving, spiritual style should find this work quite rewarding. (Note to prospective Gorecki fans: his style is eclectic, and not all of his work is as placid as this piece.)
Free Music Review: Incredible
Hit: 5 Stars
When I first picked out this CD at a local library, I thought I was being very brave. I had never heard of Henryk Gorecki, and his symphony was dated from 1976. I prepared to listen to some really strange avant garde music, and after hearing the basses and cellos "drone on" for 5 minutes, I thought this was minimalism at its worst. I decided to be patient enough to finish listening to the first movement. I found myself listening to the rest of the entire symphony, wanting to hear it again.Although(and because) it is extremely slow and repetitious, this symphony will have a memorable effect on you the first time you listen to it. Unlike other music which you have to listen to several times before you come to enjoy it, this piece will immediately get to you. It is so different from any music I have ever heard, yet so easy to understand. Also, the soprano sings Polish, which I think is the perfect language to use for this symphony. It fits the mood of the music perfectly, and is penetrating due to its beautiful use of consonants.
I proudly recommend this music to everyone who is willing to listen to a new kind of music, and say that if this symphony indeed crosses my boundaries of musical tolerance by employing minimalism and tone clusters, it is a grand exception.
Free Music Review: Emotionally heartwrenching!
Hit: 5 Stars
I first heard this music on NPR and sat at my desk at work weeping. I called the station and they told me they always received the most calls after they played it from people like me yearning to purchase it. I did just that and never tire of it. I can feel my heart stretching in anguish and sorrow for those that suffered through the horrible times of the holocaust. This is one of the most perfect pieces of music-one that can touch your soul and make you feel pain and redemption at the same time.Free Music Review: What is music really about?
Hit: 5 Stars
There are people who will hate this cd, and people who will love it. It all depends on what music is about. Personally, I bought this cd on a whim, having never heard of Gorecki and being less than fond of soprano soloists in general. If music is about technique and style and details, then perhaps you will be disappointed in this cd. If music is about touching something--a feeling, a memory, a thought--inside the listener, if music is about the expression of emotion, then listen to this cd. The words are in Polish, and I have never cared what they meant--the music means different things to me each time I hear it. Sometimes it's about loneliness, or about sadness, sometimes it's about finding the will to live on through tragedy, and sometimes it's about nothing at all. When Dawn Upshaw's voice soars in the second movement, I can close my eyes and appreciate the power of the music and her voice and that particular moment in time. Is it the greatest music ever written--probably not. But if music touches something deep inside you, isn't that what greatness is about?