Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish co… Read Full Bio ↴Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. Górecki became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during the post-Stalin cultural thaw. His Webernian-influenced serialist works of the 1950s and 1960s were characterized by adherence to dissonant modernism and drew influence from Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Krzysztof Penderecki and Kazimierz Serocki. He continued in this direction throughout the 1960s, but by the mid-1970s had changed to a less complex sacred minimalist sound, exemplified by the transitional Symphony No. 2 and the hugely popular Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs). This later style developed through several other distinct phases, from such works as his 1979 Beatus Vir, to the 1981 choral hymn Miserere, the 1993 Kleines Requiem für eine Polka and his requiem Good Night.
He was largely unknown outside Poland until the mid-to late 1980s, and his fame arrived in the 1990s. In 1992, 15 years after it was composed, a recording of his Third Symphony, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs—recorded with soprano Dawn Upshaw, conductor David Zinman and released to commemorate the memory of those lost during the Holocaust—became a worldwide commercial and critical success, selling more than a million copies and vastly exceeding the typical lifetime sales of a recording of symphonic music by a 20th-century composer. As surprised as anyone at its popularity, Górecki said, "Perhaps people find something they need in this piece of music [...] somehow I hit the right note, something they were missing. Something somewhere had been lost to them. I feel that I instinctively knew what they needed." This popular acclaim did not generate wide interest in Górecki's other works, and he pointedly resisted the temptation to repeat earlier success, or compose for commercial reward.
Some of Górecki's music has been adapted for film soundtracks, most notably fragments of his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. They are featured in Peter Weir's 1993 film Fearless, Julian Schnabel's 1996 biographical drama film Basquiat, Shona Auerbach's 1996 film Seven, Jaime Marqués's 2007 film Ladrones, Terrence Malick's 2012 experimental romantic drama To the Wonder, Paolo Sorrentino's 2013 art drama film The Great Beauty, Felix van Groeningen's 2018 biographical film Beautiful Boy, and Terrence Malick's 2019 historical drama A Hidden Life. It has also appeared on television in numerous TV shows including the American crime drama television series The Sopranos, American TV series Legion, crime thriller television series The Blacklist, as well as the historical drama The Crown.
Górecki's music covers a variety of styles, but tends towards relative harmonic and rhythmical simplicity. He is considered to be a founder of the so-called New Polish School. Described by Terry Teachout, he said Górecki has "more conventional array of compositional techniques includes both elaborate counterpoint and the ritualistic repetition of melodic fragments and harmonic patterns."
His first works, dating from the last half of the 1950s, were in the avant-garde style of Webern and other serialists of that time. Some of these twelve-tone and serial pieces include Epitaph (1958), First Symphony (1959), and Scontri (1960) (Mirka 2004, p. 305). At that time, Górecki's reputation was not lagging behind that of his near-exact contemporary and his status was confirmed in 1960s when "Monologhi" won a first prize. Even until 1962, he was firmly ensconced in the minds of the Warsaw Autumn public as a leader of the Polish Modern School, alongside Penderecki.
Danuta Mirka has shown that Górecki's compositional techniques in the 1960s were often based on geometry, including axes, figures, one- and two-dimensional patterns, and especially symmetry. Thus, she proposes the term "geometrical period" to refer to Górecki's works between 1962 and 1970. Building on Krzysztof Droba's classifications, she further divides this period into two phases: (1962–63) "the phase of sonoristic means"; and (1964–70) "the phase of reductive constructicism" (Mirka 2004, p. 329).
During the mid-1960s and early 1970s, Górecki progressively moved away from his early career as radical modernist, and began to compose with a more traditional, romantic mode of expression. His change of style was viewed as an affront to the then avant-garde establishment, and though he continued to receive commissions from various Polish agencies, by the mid-1970s Górecki was no longer regarded as a composer that mattered. In the words of one critic, his "new material was no longer cerebral and sparse; rather, it was intensely expressive, persistently rhythmic and often richly colored in the darkest of orchestral hues".
Apart from two brief periods studying in Paris and a short time living in Berlin, Górecki spent most of his life in southern Poland.
Henryk Górecki was born on 6 December 1933, in the village of Czernica, in present-day Silesian Voivodeship, southwest Poland. The Górecki family lived modestly, though both parents had a love of music. His father Roman (1904–1991) worked at the goods office of a local railway station, but was an amateur musician, while his mother Otylia (1909–1935), played piano. Otylia died when her son was just two years old, and many of his early works were dedicated to her memory. Henryk developed an interest in music from an early age, though he was discouraged by both his father and new stepmother to the extent that he was not allowed to play his mother's old piano. He persisted, and in 1943 was allowed to take violin lessons with Paweł Hajduga; a local amateur musician, instrument maker, sculptor, painter, poet and chłopski filozof (peasant philosopher).
During the last decade of his life, Górecki suffered from frequent illnesses. His Symphony No. 4 was due to be premiered in London in 2010, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, but the event was cancelled due to the composer's ill health. He died on 12 November 2010, in his home city of Katowice, from complications arising from a lung infection. Reacting to his death, the head of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Professor Eugeniusz Knapik, said "Górecki's work is like a huge boulder that lies in our path and forces us to make a spiritual and emotional effort". Adrian Thomas, Professor of Music at Cardiff University, said "The strength and startling originality of Górecki's character shone through his music [...] Yet he was an intensely private man, sometimes impossible, with a strong belief in family, a great sense of humour, a physical courage in the face of unrelenting illness, and a capacity for firm friendship". He was married to Jadwiga, a piano teacher. His daughter, Anna Górecka-Stanczyk, is a pianist, and his son, Mikołaj Górecki, is also a composer. He was survived by five grandchildren.
Górecki was awarded the Order of the White Eagle by the President of the Republic of Poland Bronisław Komorowski, Poland's highest honour, just a month before his death. The Order was presented by the wife of President Komorowski in Górecki's hospital bed. Earlier, Górecki was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta II class and III class and the Order of St. Gregory the Great.
The world premiere of the Fourth Symphony took place on 12 April 2014. It was performed, as originally scheduled in 2010, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, London, but with Andrey Boreyko conducting, instead of Marin Alsop.
He was largely unknown outside Poland until the mid-to late 1980s, and his fame arrived in the 1990s. In 1992, 15 years after it was composed, a recording of his Third Symphony, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs—recorded with soprano Dawn Upshaw, conductor David Zinman and released to commemorate the memory of those lost during the Holocaust—became a worldwide commercial and critical success, selling more than a million copies and vastly exceeding the typical lifetime sales of a recording of symphonic music by a 20th-century composer. As surprised as anyone at its popularity, Górecki said, "Perhaps people find something they need in this piece of music [...] somehow I hit the right note, something they were missing. Something somewhere had been lost to them. I feel that I instinctively knew what they needed." This popular acclaim did not generate wide interest in Górecki's other works, and he pointedly resisted the temptation to repeat earlier success, or compose for commercial reward.
Some of Górecki's music has been adapted for film soundtracks, most notably fragments of his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. They are featured in Peter Weir's 1993 film Fearless, Julian Schnabel's 1996 biographical drama film Basquiat, Shona Auerbach's 1996 film Seven, Jaime Marqués's 2007 film Ladrones, Terrence Malick's 2012 experimental romantic drama To the Wonder, Paolo Sorrentino's 2013 art drama film The Great Beauty, Felix van Groeningen's 2018 biographical film Beautiful Boy, and Terrence Malick's 2019 historical drama A Hidden Life. It has also appeared on television in numerous TV shows including the American crime drama television series The Sopranos, American TV series Legion, crime thriller television series The Blacklist, as well as the historical drama The Crown.
Górecki's music covers a variety of styles, but tends towards relative harmonic and rhythmical simplicity. He is considered to be a founder of the so-called New Polish School. Described by Terry Teachout, he said Górecki has "more conventional array of compositional techniques includes both elaborate counterpoint and the ritualistic repetition of melodic fragments and harmonic patterns."
His first works, dating from the last half of the 1950s, were in the avant-garde style of Webern and other serialists of that time. Some of these twelve-tone and serial pieces include Epitaph (1958), First Symphony (1959), and Scontri (1960) (Mirka 2004, p. 305). At that time, Górecki's reputation was not lagging behind that of his near-exact contemporary and his status was confirmed in 1960s when "Monologhi" won a first prize. Even until 1962, he was firmly ensconced in the minds of the Warsaw Autumn public as a leader of the Polish Modern School, alongside Penderecki.
Danuta Mirka has shown that Górecki's compositional techniques in the 1960s were often based on geometry, including axes, figures, one- and two-dimensional patterns, and especially symmetry. Thus, she proposes the term "geometrical period" to refer to Górecki's works between 1962 and 1970. Building on Krzysztof Droba's classifications, she further divides this period into two phases: (1962–63) "the phase of sonoristic means"; and (1964–70) "the phase of reductive constructicism" (Mirka 2004, p. 329).
During the mid-1960s and early 1970s, Górecki progressively moved away from his early career as radical modernist, and began to compose with a more traditional, romantic mode of expression. His change of style was viewed as an affront to the then avant-garde establishment, and though he continued to receive commissions from various Polish agencies, by the mid-1970s Górecki was no longer regarded as a composer that mattered. In the words of one critic, his "new material was no longer cerebral and sparse; rather, it was intensely expressive, persistently rhythmic and often richly colored in the darkest of orchestral hues".
Apart from two brief periods studying in Paris and a short time living in Berlin, Górecki spent most of his life in southern Poland.
Henryk Górecki was born on 6 December 1933, in the village of Czernica, in present-day Silesian Voivodeship, southwest Poland. The Górecki family lived modestly, though both parents had a love of music. His father Roman (1904–1991) worked at the goods office of a local railway station, but was an amateur musician, while his mother Otylia (1909–1935), played piano. Otylia died when her son was just two years old, and many of his early works were dedicated to her memory. Henryk developed an interest in music from an early age, though he was discouraged by both his father and new stepmother to the extent that he was not allowed to play his mother's old piano. He persisted, and in 1943 was allowed to take violin lessons with Paweł Hajduga; a local amateur musician, instrument maker, sculptor, painter, poet and chłopski filozof (peasant philosopher).
During the last decade of his life, Górecki suffered from frequent illnesses. His Symphony No. 4 was due to be premiered in London in 2010, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, but the event was cancelled due to the composer's ill health. He died on 12 November 2010, in his home city of Katowice, from complications arising from a lung infection. Reacting to his death, the head of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Professor Eugeniusz Knapik, said "Górecki's work is like a huge boulder that lies in our path and forces us to make a spiritual and emotional effort". Adrian Thomas, Professor of Music at Cardiff University, said "The strength and startling originality of Górecki's character shone through his music [...] Yet he was an intensely private man, sometimes impossible, with a strong belief in family, a great sense of humour, a physical courage in the face of unrelenting illness, and a capacity for firm friendship". He was married to Jadwiga, a piano teacher. His daughter, Anna Górecka-Stanczyk, is a pianist, and his son, Mikołaj Górecki, is also a composer. He was survived by five grandchildren.
Górecki was awarded the Order of the White Eagle by the President of the Republic of Poland Bronisław Komorowski, Poland's highest honour, just a month before his death. The Order was presented by the wife of President Komorowski in Górecki's hospital bed. Earlier, Górecki was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta II class and III class and the Order of St. Gregory the Great.
The world premiere of the Fourth Symphony took place on 12 April 2014. It was performed, as originally scheduled in 2010, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, London, but with Andrey Boreyko conducting, instead of Marin Alsop.
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I. Lento
Henryk Górecki Lyrics
No lyrics text found for this track.
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
@hari9886
in the beginning, all that exists is the dark brooding of nihilistic chaos,
the cello harmony introduces the voice of the Divine Father
violas signal the emergence of the human spirit.
the violin crescendo signifies the resilience of that spirit in the face of tragedy.
I think when the cellos go really high, you can hear the father cry for humanity as we press on.
At a certain point (15:00), the human spirit finds peace, stability, and beauty. It lasts for just a short while.
The brooding crescendo at 15:56 reflects the emergence of group ego, and the reintroduction of tragedy through war .
This isn't just a song. It's the story of our existence; an ode to the resilient, tragic beauty of the human spirit.
@andersdemitz-helin1630
I guess this could be what a part of me look like on the inside. Some kind of beauty and the desire directed towards some kind of higher purpose. It could be no other way. It's like a memory that overwhelms me and I realize something I haven't thought or felt in a long time, or more like a place of home on the inside, a place I visited all the time at some, probably young age. Without it, I would feel at least half. I think it holds very many, and often contradictory emotions, not all of them pleasant, why it's so very personal. When it happens with litterature or the other arts it's often more indirect, or intellectual, or includes some sort of surprise when thinking, and then emotions. Music is like smell. A highway to the inner parts of the brain.
As Marcel Proust in 1919 says, in Swann’s Way:
"...when for the first time he had heard the
sonata played. He knew that his memory of the piano falsified still further the perspective in which he saw the music,
that the field open to the musician is not a miserable stave of seven notes, but an immeasurable keyboard (still, almost
all of it, unknown), on which, here and there only, separated by the gross darkness of its unexplored tracts, some few among the millions of keys, keys of tenderness, of passion, of courage, of serenity, which compose it, each one differing from all the rest as one universe differs from another, have been discovered by certain great artists who do us the service, when they awaken in us the emotion corresponding to the theme which they have found, of shewing us what richness, what variety lies hidden, unknown to us, in that great black impenetrable night, discouraging exploration, of our soul, which we have been content to regard as valueless and
waste and void. Vinteuil had been one of those musicians. In his little phrase, albeit it presented to the mind’s eye a clouded surface, there was contained, one felt, a matter so consistent, so explicit, to which the phrase gave so new, so original a force, that those who had once heard it preserved the memory of it in the treasure-chamber of their minds.
Swann would repair to it as to a conception of love and happiness, of which at once he knew as well in what respects it was peculiar as he would know of the Princesse de Clèves, or of René, should either of those titles occur to him. Even when he was not thinking of the little phrase, it existed, latent, in his mind, in the same way as certain other conceptions without material equivalent, such as our notions of light, of sound, of perspective, of bodily desire, the rich possessions wherewith our inner temple is diversified and adorned. Perhaps we shall lose them, perhaps they will be obliterated, if we return to nothing in the dust. But so long
as we are alive, we can no more bring ourselves to a state in which we shall not have known them than we can with
regard to any material object, than we can, for example, doubt the luminosity of a lamp that has just been lighted, in view of the changed aspect ofeverything in the room, from which has vanished even the memory of the darkness."
Agreing with him, that music is magic, and forms soundtracks of our lives.
@Just_awanderingmusician
Synku, synku, synku miły i wybrany
Rozdziel z matką swoje rany
A wszakom cię, synku miły
W swem sercu nosiła
A takież tobie wiernie służyła
A takież tobie wiernie służyła
Przemow k matce
Bych się ucieszyła
Bo już jidziesz ode mnie
Moja nadzieja miła
@NickCarlozzi
Rest In Peace, Henryk. Humanity is lucky to have you.
@WandamianCrucifixplate
My estranged father passed away and a few days after I was sitting in the dark in the tub of my bathroom listening to this piece and weeping. This movement encapsulates loss better than any other piece of music I have ever heard in my entire life up to this point. I can't say how much I appreciate that something like this exists for me to experience alongside life itself. Sometimes feelings are hard to put into words but a masterpiece like this really doesn't need words to be understood.
@robertbridges1770
yes
@yootha12
the film "FEARLESS" BOUGHT ME here.
@Vesnicie
Dear God, guide my steps in the new year, lead me away from the enveloping darkness and into your light. Amen.
@nikolauswilliams3124
Amen
@smokeyeyefanatic
Amen 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
@littlecooker3325
De très loin le plus beau morceau et la plus belle interprétation que j’ai écouté
@scottsorg1441
Heard this sad, mournful symphony 30 years ago and then today. Best Father's Day gift ever.
@evelic
Just had a psilocybe experience with this piece of music. I don´t have the words right now to describe how beautiful this is.