Gorecki

Henryk Gorecki died yesterday after a long illness.

Who is Henryk Gorecki?

He was one of Poland’s premier classical composers. A great thing about being into classical music is that it is virtually inexhaustible. Once you’ve listened to and assessed the hundreds of works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Copland, Debussey, Grieg, Sibelius, Dvorak, Liszt, Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Strauss, Schubert, Handel, Vivaldi, Ravel, Prokofiev, Mahler, etc, etc, etc, there are even more, lesser known composers to explore. I hesitate to call them “tier 2” composers, because, as in the case of Gorecki, their work is often incomprehensible in its ability to send chills up your spine. That’s how good it is, and you wonder, how come these men are not better known?

Some of the more obscure artists I’ve explored with satisfaction are: Jarre, Ives, Poulenc, Khachaturian, Faure, Glass, Satie, Janacek, Rodrigo, MacDowell, Kodaly, and Rautavaara. The problem is that there are not many of their recordings out there to sample. I like to test drive them by borrowing them from local libraries; if any work takes up residence in my head, I put it on a list to buy, usually at B&N.

A few weeks ago I read about Gorecki writing one of the most “Catholic” pieces of music ever – his Symphony No. 3, “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.” It was composed in 1976, and there is really only one major recording, done in 1992, which actually charted well and sold over a million copies. I picked it up based on the review of the piece I read, and it is extremely moving. In three movements, it depicts the loss between a mother and son, particularly due to violence such as war. The first movement details Mary’s sorrow at the Cross.

I’m listening to it right now as I write these words. Of course, I recommend it for any serious music fan who wishes to expand his range and receptivity.