3rd Symphony (Górecki)
The 3rd Symphony op. 36 ( Symfonia pieśni żałosnych - Symphony of Lamentations ) is the most successful work by the Polish composer Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933–2010). The symphony for soprano and orchestra consists of three movements .
History
Górecki composed the work that he dedicated to his wife in 1976 as a commissioned composition for Südwestfunk Baden-Baden . It was premiered on April 4, 1977 in Royan (France) by the symphony orchestra of the Südwestfunk Baden-Baden under the direction of Ernest Bour ; Stefania Woytowicz sang the soprano solo .
Instrumentation, notation and tonality
Soprano solo, 4 flutes, 4 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 contrabassoons, 4 horns, 4 trombones, harp, piano, strings (at least 16 first and 14 second violins, as well as 12 violas, 10 cellos and 8 double basses).
The strong orchestra at first glance is deceptive, because the strings determine the majority of the musical events. The harp and piano set accents above all, and the wind instruments appear almost exclusively in the form of recumbent tones in order to further intensify the sound effect of the extremely dense score.
The score is no sign quoted, yet each set reveals a basic key. In the first movement it is E minor (more precisely: Aeolian mode on E), in the second B flat minor and in the third A minor / A major. In addition, all transposing instruments were notated according to their actual sound, a procedure that is often used with newer scores in order to facilitate orientation for the reader (in such cases one speaks of a score notated "in C", not to be confused with C- Major or c minor as keys).
Structure and analysis
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Lento. Sostenuto tranquillo ma cantabile
- Lament świętokrzyski z "Pieśni łysogórskich" (Holy Cross Lament from the "Songs from Łysa Góra")
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Lento e largo. Tranquillissimo - cantabillissimo - dolcissimo - legatissimo
- Zakopane "Palace" cela nr 3 ściana nr 3 Błażusiakówna Helena Wanda lat 18, siedzi od 25 IX 44 (prayer, written on wall 3 of cell 3 in the basement of the "palace", the Gestapo headquarters in Zakopane; below the words : Błażusiakówna, Helena Wanda, 18 years, 25 IX. 44)
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Lento. Cantabile semplice
- Pieśń ludowa z opolskiego (folk song in the Silesian dialect of the Opole area )
All three movements of the symphony are held slowly. They slowly increase to the respective climax until the use of the voice in a steady flow.
The three sentences are based on three Polish texts, in which the deep catholicity of Górecki is shown:
- The first sentence is a lamentation of Mary : Mary weeps for her crucified son. The text has come down to us in a manuscript dated to the second half of the 15th century from the Heiligkreuz monastery on the Kahler Berg .
- The text of the second sentence is a prayer found on the wall of a cell in the basement of the Gestapo headquarters in Zakopane .
- The text of the third movement is an Upper Silesian folk song from the time of the Polish uprisings , in which a mother laments for her dead son.
reception
The real success of the Symphony of Lamentations did not materialize until 1992. In a recording conducted by David Zinman (vocals: Dawn Upshaw ) she was in the pop charts for a few weeks . The 3rd symphony inspired the trip-hop band Lamb to write their song Górecki , which made it to number 30 on the British singles chart in 1997 .
Górecki's 3rd Symphony found its way into several feature films and television series, e. B. The Bull of Paris (1985) with Gérard Depardieu by Maurice Pialat , Fearless - Jenseits der Angst (1993) by Peter Weir , Basquiat (1996) by Julian Schnabel , Ripley's Game (2002) by Liliana Cavani , La Grande Bellezza - Die great beauty (2013) by Paolo Sorrentino , The Crown (2017) or Beautiful Boy (2018) by Felix Van Groeningen .
Discography (selection)
Web links
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Text (Polish / German) in the program for the concert by the Badische Staatskapelle on May 23, 2014,
program No. 186 (p. 17) of the Karlsruhe State Theater, season 2013/14. (PDF document 1.3 MB; accessed on January 29, 2018)