GORECKI: Choral Music = Euntes ibant et flebant, Op. 32; Lobgesang, Op. 76; Totus Tuus, Op. 60; Salve, Sidus, Polonorum, Op. 72; Amen, Op. 35 – National Youth Choir of Great Britain / Mike Brewer – Delphian DCD34054, 61:47 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] *****:
Out of the three members of the “God Squad”—Gorecki, Taverner, and Part—it is perhaps the first who has the ability to most directly touch the heartstrings. His Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, stupidly panned in some circles because of its populist appeal, has now sold well over a million copies, though that success has done little to encourage others to investigate his other work. Whatever happens, that piece will always stand as one of the towering landmarks of twentieth century music. But there is much more to Gorecki besides that piece—he wrote numerous other compositions both instrumental and choral, and I hope that with the appearance of this disc, chock full of some ravishing choral music, others will begin to assess him more fully and get this music before the listening public.
The five compositions on this disc date from 1972-2000, and show a remarkably consistent style on the part of the composer. There are differences over that time period, but they are subtle; yet all of them are exquisite examples of his art at the highest. Totus Tuus, perhaps his most famous choral piece (dedicated to Pope John Paul II, and written for his third visit to Poland), reflects the Pope’s motto, and is a piece of serenity and power without slipping into sentimentality. The composer essentially emerged from the throes of the avant-garde in 1972, and Euntes ibant et flebant (two verses from Psalms 125 and 94) mark the first in a series of unaccompanied sacred works. Amen, from 1975, continues this path but in a much more joyful vein.
Lobgesang was composed in 2000 to honor Gutenberg, the founder of modern printing, and was commissioned by the city of Mainz. Gorecki takes the letters of Gutenberg’s first and last names and uses them as a sort of tone row upon which to base the composition. No atonality here, even though the row leads to some odd and unpredictable harmonies. But I think my favorite piece on the disc is Salve, Sidus, Polonorum (Hail Star of the Polish People) an extract from a large oratorio written for the meeting of Pope John Paul II and the Polish and German presidents at Gniezno, where a cathedral is dedicated to St. Wojciech, patron saint of Bohemia. The second movement is one of the most beautiful works of art I have ever heard, though it hardly dims the outer movements at all. Goercki at his heart-wrenching finest.
The National Youth Choir of Great Britain, young adults between the ages of 16 and 22, is around 200 strong, and they sing this music with passion and an amazing dexterity, ably guided by conductor Mike Brewer. The power of this choir is matched only by its incredible subtlety, and the sheer numbers provide an overwhelming experience, caught by the engineers in the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford, and the Chapel of the Oundle School, to perfection. An essential choral acquisition.
—Steven Ritter
