Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
The great Polish composer, Henryk Gorecki (pronounced "go-RET-ski") died on Friday at 76. For most of his professional life, Gorecki worked under a Communist regime that opposed classical artistic forms, modernism, religious piety of any kind, and, when it comes down to it, beauty itself.
Gorecki responded by combining classical forms--particularly simple melodic lines in a relatively narrow tonal range, not unlike Gregorian chant or early polyphony--with a modern aesthetic that embraced a certain dissonance, writing music that was explicitly sacred, and astoundingly beautiful.
If you only listen to one piece by Gorecki, listen to "Totus Tuus," the choral work he composed for Pope John Paul II's 1987 visit to Poland. "Totus Tuus" was John Paul's personal motto, and Gorecki employed simple Latin lyrics in the work:
Totus tuus sum Maria,
Mater nostri redemptoris,
Virgo dei, virgo pia,
Mater mundi salvatoris.
Totus tuus sum Maria.
(One Ricochet member or another will be able to provide a more elegant translation, I'm sure, but very roughly: "I am totally yours, Maria, mother of our redeemer, virgin of God, virgin of piety, mother of the saviour of the world. I am totally yours, Maria.")
Listen to the way the simple lyrics rise and fall with the music, becoming like prayer--even like breathing. About two-thirds of the way through, notice the way Gorecki uses the phrase "Mater mundi salvatoris," repeating first the entire phrase, then merely the first two words, and then--and this is almost shockingly beautiful--the single word, "mater," or "mother," which suddenly breaks through the sense of a formal, almost liturgical attitude, replacing it, for a long, tender moment, with one of informal, direct address to Our Lady.
I suppose Catholics will find "Totus Tuus" easiest to appreciate--and I waited until Sunday to put up this post. But just think. Nineteen eighty-seven. The Communists remained in power. The Polish pope returned for the third time to his homeland. It was obvious by now that the regime was on the defensive, weak, alert to danger--and that, at a word from the pontiff, the Poles would do anything, including take to the streets. What happened instead? At a high mass in Victory Square in Warsaw, the pope and the Polish people, through the agency of a great artist, Henryk Gorecki, rededicated themselves to prayer, to beauty, and to the strongest, but also the tenderest, of beings: a mother.
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Jun '10
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. As a music lover I am deeply saddened to read this news. As a Pole, I am elated and proud that the world had this gift of Gorecki. You cannot listen to Gorecki and not believe in a benevolent God, one who allows the exceptional among us eternal life by dint of their life's work. Let perpetual light shine upon him.
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
And may angels sing him to his rest--using, of course, his own scores.
Sep '10
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
Allow me to add my superlatives to Symphony No 3: one of the most stunning pieces of music that I've ever listened to. I have a few different versions of the recording. Without stating a preference, there is an excerpt of Lento e Largo done inside Auschwitz with Isabel Bayrakdarian, a Canadian-Armenian soprano some may recall from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack with Howard Shore.
Sep '10
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
Thanks for posting this, Peter. Reminds me of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, who caused a major scandal when he premiered his piece Credo in his Soviet-controlled home country in 1968. Credo opens and closes with beautiful choral renditions of words like "Credo in Jesum Christum", but is interrupted by a dissonant, shrill orchestral sequence in the middle. This can be interpreted as a struggle between 'old' and 'new', with the tradition of faith--expressed by traditional sacred music--finally winning over 'modern' dissonace. Naturally, the communist, atheist authorities disliked this idea and henceforth Pärt was unable to obtain commissions in Estonia. Nevertheless, he shifted his attention even closer towards sacred music, eventually emigrated to the West, and is now considered to be one of today's finest living composers. The positive effect that faith had on the people of Poland, or on the music of composers like Gorecki, or the positive effect that faith-inspired art itself can have, cannot be denied. People should consider this before wishing the Christian faith to go away.
Jul '10
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
Truly beautiful. Thank You for sharing.
And also enjoyed Pseudodionysius'sus (*whew*) call.
1987
I don't exactly know how to articulate this, but I'll try.
I think when President Reagan was elected planet Earth shook. With the final piece of the Triumvirate (President Reagan, Lady Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II) in place evil nations around the globe thought their time was coming to an end. I think the Triumvirate's success of explaining Faith and Freedom to all the billions untold was the "Light at the end of the tunnel" that may have given people like Gorecki, and many others, the fortitude to stand up.
What an amazing decade, the 80s.
Edited on Nov 14, 2010 at 4:18pmMay '10
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
I would translate Maria as Mary, unless you want him to sound like Bernstein.
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
I remember a beautiful night at a friend's house in London. Drinking. Chatting. Then, suddenly, the music on the stereo pushing its way into my consciousness and I said, "What is that???" It was Symphony #3. I went out soon after and bought whatever CD's I could find. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. Thanks, Peter, I didn't know the background, but it all makes perfect sense.
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
Drew--and everyone else who has commented on Symphony #3--I couldn't agree more. Here's what Wikipedia says about the "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs":
Symphony #3 premiered in 1977, when Jimmy Carter was still in the White House, Brezhnev was still in the Kremlin, Karol Wojtyla was still a little-known bishop in Poland--and no one had any reason to suppose the Communists wouldn't remain in power forever. That was the hopeless background against which Gorecki worked, producing music of astounding beauty. What an artist. What a man.
Jul '10
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
I sit corrected.
May '10
Re: Henryk Gorecki, R.I.P.
Ave atque vale Pan Gorecki. Thank you and G-D for your beautiful music. I can barely listen to Symphony #3, it is so beautiful and sad, that sometimes it is almost too painful to listen.
Also support Peter Hintz above, on the reference to that other modern great spiritual composer - Arvo Pärt.
Try listing to "Spiegel in Spiegel", or "I am the true vine" by Part; then tell me there is no G-D somewhere, smiling at the pure goodness of this music's creation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtFPdBUl7XQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP5s2BxM-L0
Edited on Nov 15, 2010 at 6:21am