Gorecki - Symphony #3 - Lento e largo—Tranquillissimo

click here to stream the mp3

This nine-minute second movement is for soprano, clarinets, horns, piano and strings, and contains a libretto formed from the prayer to the Virgin Mary inscribed by 18-year-old Helena Wanda Błażusiakówna, a highland woman incarcerated on 25 September 1944, on the cell wall in Zakopane, Poland. It read "O Mamo nie płacz nie—Niebios Przeczysta Królowo Ty zawsze wspieraj mnie" (Oh Mamma do not cry — Immaculate Queen of Heaven support me always).

The composer recalled, "I have to admit that I have always been irritated by grand words, by calls for revenge. Perhaps in the face of death I would shout out in this way. But the sentence I found is different, almost an apology or explanation for having got herself into such trouble; she is seeking comfort and support in simple, short but meaningful words".

He later explained, "In prison, the whole wall was covered with inscriptions screaming out loud: 'I'm innocent', 'Murderers', 'Executioners', 'Free me', 'You have to save me' — it was all so loud, so banal. Adults were writing this, while here it is an eighteen-year-old girl, almost a child. And she is so different. She does not despair, does not cry, does not scream for revenge."

"She does not think about herself; whether she deserves her fate or not. Instead, she only thinks about her mother: because it is her mother who will experience true despair. This inscription was something extraordinary. And it really fascinated me."

"I wanted the second movement to be of a highland character, not in the sense of pure folklore, but the climate of Podhale … I wanted the girl's monologue as if hummed … on the one hand almost unreal, on the other towering over the orchestra."

The movement opens with a folk drone, A–E, and a melodic fragment, E–G♯–F♯, which alternate with sudden plunges to a low B♭–D♭ dyad. Thomas describes the effect as "almost cinematic … suggesting the bright open air of the mountains".

As the soprano begins to sing, her words are supported by the orchestra until she reaches a climaxing top A♭. The movement is resolved when the strings hold a chord without diminuendo for just over two minutes.

This is hands down my most favorite piece of contemporary classical music.

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Pictured: blooming flowers around the "Stary kosciol parafialny MB Czestochowskiej" or "old cemetery" in Zakopane, Poland.

Islands of Sanity (4)

KDFC premiered it's new album "Islands of Sanity #4" today. It is a 15 track musical meditation. For those of you who are classically inclined - it makes a great gift. It benefits "Music in Schools Today" (linky).

Enjoy an all-star escape, as artists including Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Lang Lang, Andre Previn and Yundi Li join a variety of major orchestras to perform Mozart, Gershwin, Debussy, Puccini, Bach and more. Our 8th annual charity CD, a limited production and likely sell-out, is a great gift for the holidays (and good for your peace of mind during the season).

Here is the track list:

1. Thaïs: Meditation by Jules Massenet
   Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)


2. Andante spianato et Grand polonaise brillante in E flat major, Op. 22: Andante spianato by Frédéric Chopin
   Performer: Yundi Li (Piano)


3. Rêverie by Claude Debussy
   Performer: Julian Lloyd Webber (Cello)


4. Concerto for Violin in F minor, Op. 8 no 4/RV 297 "L'inverno": 2nd movement, Largo by Antonio Vivaldi
   Performer: Jan Jansen (Harpsichord), Elizabeth Kenny (Theorbo), Janine Jansen (Violin),
   Stacey Watton (Double Bass), Candida Thompson (Violin), Henk Rubingh (Violin),
   Julian Rachlin (Violin), Jan Jansen (Organ), Maarten Jansen (Cello)


5. Porgy and Bess: Bess, you is my woman now by George Gershwin
   Performer: Anne-Sophie Mutter (Violin), André Previn (Piano)


6. Serenade for Winds no 10 in B flat major, K 361 (370a): 3rd mvt, Adagio by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
   Orchestra/Ensemble: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra


7. Concerto for Cello in G minor: Adagio by Mathias Georg Monn
   Performer: Jian Wang (Cello)


8. Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro by Giacomo Puccini
   Performer: Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Piano)


9. Concerto for Cello no 6 in D major, G 479: 2nd mvt, Andante cantabile by Luigi Boccherini
   Performer: Andrés Segovia (Guitar)


10. Concerto for Piano no 1 in G minor, Op. 25: Andante by Felix Mendelssohn
    Performer: Lang Lang (Piano)


11. Berceuse for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Op. 16 by Gabriel Fauré
    Performer: Anne-Sophie Mutter (Violin)


12. Les contes d'Hoffmann: Barcarolle by Jacques Offenbach
    Performer: James Galway (Flute), Jeanne Galway (Flute)


13. Concerto for Piano no 3 in C minor, Op. 37: 2nd movement, Largo by Ludwig van Beethoven
    Performer: Mikhail Pletnev (Piano)


14. Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, BWV 1043: 2nd movement, Largo ma non tanto by Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer: Hilary Hahn (Violin), Margaret Batjer (Violin)


15. Kinderszenen, Op. 15: no 7, Träumerei by Robert Schumann
    Performer: Mstislav Rostropovich (Cello), Alexander Dedyukhin (Piano)

here's how you can get your copy : click here

Your task is not to seek for love

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. - Rumi

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I spent the evening sketching out a stained glass window for an art project (not pictured) and listening to LangLang play piano.

I like the image of our soul as a stained glass window - through which our emotions shine through.... bright warm light of different hues changing the scene.

When I was a kid - a traveling show would come through every holiday season called "chalk talk." Oh how christian it was - she'd tell the story of christmas - blahblahjesusblahmaryblahblah - but all of us waiting for the end - when she'd turn the lights off - and shine the different hues of of black light on the birth of jesus - and it'd go all velvet elvis painting on us. and we'd all oooh and ahhh.

Sometimes I feel like how we paint the life we're experiencing - is just like chalk talk. blahblahjobblahdatingblahblahljblah. LOL

the difference is the hue of light we choose to see it in - sometimes rose coloured glasses do the shading for us - other times the clarity is so in your face it is inescapable.