HM Górecki: new choral works premiered in Germany
(November 2000)
Henryk Mikolaj Górecki has recently completed two new choral works, both premiered recently in Germany. Salve, sidus Polonorum, scored for chorus and ensemble, received its first performance at the Gartenkirche in Hannover, as part of EXPO 2000, sung by the Warsaw National Philharmonic Choir conducted by Henryk Wojnarowski, who give further performances in Warsaw on 16 and 17 February. The work was commissioned by The Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society of Poznan and EXPO 2000 Polish Office (KIG/PAIZ) and sponsored by Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.Salve, sidus Polonorum takes the form of a three movement cantata commemorating the Polish bishop Wojciech (alternatively known as St Adalbert) who was martyred in 997 AD and later adopted as the patron saint of Bohemia. Górecki's music is related to a large-scale and unperformed oratorio that has occupied the composer since 1997, begun 1000 years after the murder of Wojciech. As Górecki scholar Adrian Thomas observes in his programme note, the new work "draws together many strands of the composer's personal and compositional philosophy, ranging from the reflective to the joyous. The outer movements, for example, reinforce his passion for old Polish music by incorporating texts and melodies from two 15th-century chants linked to St.Wojciech. The large chorus, the use of percussion and the patient musical evolution are also characteristic, as are the occasional moments of dissonance and surprise."
Lobgesang, for SATB chorus and glockenspiel, was premiered at the St Johanneskirche in Mainz on 13 August. The work was commissioned by the city of Mainz as a birthday greeting for Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press whose 600th anniversary of birth is being celebrated this year.
Though his public reputation centres on the Third Symphony, Górecki is equally acclaimed for his choral music ranging from large-scale works such as Beatus Vir and Miserere, to the much-performed Latin motet Totus Tuus and a series of Polish settings such as Broad Waters and My Vistula, Grey Vistula. Górecki works from the past decade include Quasi una Fantasia (1990-91) written for the Kronos Quartet, Concerto-Cantata (1992) for flute and orchestra, Kleines Requiem für eine Polka (1993) premiered by the Schoenberg Ensemble in Amsterdam, and Little Fantasia (1997) for violin and piano, premiered like the new choral work in Hannover.
> Further information on Work: Salve, sidus Polonorum
Photo © Malcolm Crowthers
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