Henryk Gorecki: Symphony 3 "Sorrowful Songs"
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Free Music Notes for Henryk Gorecki: Symphony 3 "Sorrowful Songs"
Free Music Review: Humanity At Its Best
Hit: 5 Stars
In his straightforward way, Gorecki cultivates a seed planted by an anonymous victim of horrors perpetrated by humanity at its worst. His result, the most beautiful and compassionate elegy for innocent sufferers of the 20th Century, cries out to God in a way no other music ever has. Were my soul to be put on a CD, I like to imagine it sounding something like this.Free Music Review: Auschwitz Death Camp Prayers
Hit: 5 Stars
Very simple & slow developing Classical Minimalism that creates layers upon layers of sound with such passion & intensity from prayers found in the Auschwitz death camp after World War 2. The highlight of this CD is soprano Dawn Upshaw delivering with clear vocal force the horror & terror of life before a gas camber, yet with the tearful cries before God. Though the music comes from a Jewish perspective, one movement deals with a mother grieving for her son which pictures the death of Jesus after the cross before his mother Mary. Therefore the music is very universal reaching beyond any religion depicting humanity in the extremes. A 20th century masterpiece worthy of any one's CD collection.
One of the few CD's that can give years of reflection.
Free Music Review: Phenominal
Hit: 5 Stars
Building from the silence into a powerful sweep of beauty, the power of this symphony will lead emotions to betray even the most hardened of individuals and will leave more sensitive souls grasping at the air with warm tears in their eyes and mouth agape. Absolutely stunning and tremendously moving.Free Music Review: Powerful stuff
Hit: 4 Stars
This piece combines beautiful singing by Dawn Upshaw with a great orchestral work. It slowly builds up to a high level of emotional expression. It is sad and tragic, but uplifting as well. I am not a musician and cannot comment on the details, but as a fan I found it very moving.Free Music Review: The most moving piece of music I have ever heard...
Hit: 5 Stars
... and I've heard many. I'm a composer myself, and if I ever write anything even a tenth as expressive as this I will consider my existence justified beyond any doubt... If I had to compile one of those desert island lists, this would probably be at the top.I only first heard this last summer (2002) while driving home over the Newport Bridge here in RI, on the Univ. of RI station in Kingston, RI. Others here have written how it steadily draws you in - by the time I got home, I had to rush in and turn on the stereo - the shopping bag could wait to be unpacked. When it was over, I was just awestruck, but still had the presence of mind to call the station and ask "What was that?!" It turned out they'd had many similar inquiries... (I can't believe I'd never heard it before this! Are stations afraid to play it because it might stun their listeners into an awed stupor? ;-)
Others have also written that it will move you to tears. I can attest to that... There's a quote from one of the members of the band New Order, in reference to his time in the earlier band Joy Division, if I recall correctly:
"There's a kind of beauty in sad things, don't you think?"
If any piece of music epitomizes this, it's this one. The sense of resolution, of release in working through pain rather than suppressing it or abstracting it away, is palpable by the end of this piece.
This European symphony, this performance, achieves the goal that is at the heart of the musical philosophy and practice of the Indian classical raga tradition: to convey a mood, a feeling, an emotion ("rasa", lit. "flavor" in Sanskrit) so perfectly, in such a focused way, that it has a consistent, profound, universal effect on its listeners.