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Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs

Symphony No. 3, also called the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, is a three-movement piece written by Henryk Górecki between October and December 1976 in Katowice, Poland. The work shows the change from Górecki's earlier dissonant style to his later, more tonal style. It "represented a stylistic breakthrough: austere, plaintive, emotionally direct, and rooted in medieval modes." It was first performed on April 4, 1977, at the Royan International Festival, with soprano Stefania Woytowicz and conductor Ernest Bour.

Each of the three movements is written from a different perspective: the first and third from the perspective of a parent who has lost a child, and the second from the perspective of a kid who has been separated from a parent. Motherhood, despair, and suffering are the central themes of the symphony.

Before 1992, only music experts knew about Górecki. Primarily, he was recognized as a composer who belonged to the Polish School and made significant contributions to the Polish music renaissance that occurred after World War II. In that same year, Elektra-Nonesuch issued a recording of the London Sinfonietta performing the 15-year-old symphony for public consumption. It topped the classical charts in both Britain and the United States. More than a million copies are sold, which is much more than a typical symphonic recording by a 20th-century composer would sell in its entire lifetime. But Górecki's other works haven't gotten as much attention because of this success.

The Story

Symphony of Sorrowful Songs is a thoughtful meditation on motherhood, love, and loss. It is based on Polish texts from different times and places, giving the point of view of both a mother who has lost a child and a child who has been separated from their parents.

Reception

The soprano Stefania Woytowicz made the first recording of the symphony in Poland in 1978. A masterwork in the eyes of Polish critics, recordings, and performances was roundly panned in the international press in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The symphony was met with disapproval from music reviewers who believed that Górecki had deviated too significantly from the conventional avant-garde style.

In the late 1980s, the symphony was played increasingly on US and British classical radio stations, especially Classic FM. The fall of communism helped spread the popularity of Polish music in general, and by 1990, the symphony was being played in major cities like New York, London, and Sydney.