(#90/365) Offerings

"Of the ten virtuous acts spoken of in Buddhism,
four are verbal: not to lie, not to engage in divisive talk,
not to speak harsh words, and not to engage in frivolous conversation"
- The Dalai Lama


Title: The Conversation Sculpture in Downtown Calgary
Flickr User njchow82

Sorrowful Songs

I want to share this video that I found today. One of my all time favorite classical compositions is Henryk Gorecki's Symphony #3: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. It's a powerful song cycle of laments - including a letter that had been scratched into an isolation cell of a Gestapo prison in the town of Zakopane.

As part of a 2005 documentary "HOLOCAUST - A Music Memorial Film from Auschwitz" permission was granted for music to be heard in Auschwitz and a number of leading musicians were brought there to perform music for the film. This video excerpt is the amazing 2nd movement from Gorecki's song cycle - sung by soprano Isabel Bayrakdaraian with the Sinfonietta Cracovia conducted by John Axelrod - actually performing at Auschwitz.

No other piece of classical music communicates the way this does. (even Arvo Pärt - and that is a lot coming from me)

I was delighted to find this recording in excerpts on Youtube and share it with you.

( Details about Gorecki's Symphony #3 behind a cut )