Henryk Górecki - Op.14 Symphony No.1 '1959' (w/brief analysis)

0:05 Mov.1 Inwokacja [Invocation]

4:36 Mov.2 Antyfona [Antiphon]

9:57 Mov.3 Chorał [Chorale]

13:05 Mov.4 Lauda

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933-2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary music. He is most famous for his third symphony, but his oeuvres stretch from piano miniatures to gigantic choral works. His earlier compositions are in serialist style, while his later ones are in a minimalist style.

Listening Guide:
This is one of the major works from early Górecki, full of dissonances, serialism, and percussion. It is an odd one out of the 4 symphonies, as the other 4 fall in a more consonant minimalist style. Well, atonal music is something very hard to get into (took me more than 3 years to get it, and finally "clicked" on Scriabin's 7th sonata), but perhaps this might click with you?

Introduction:
This was Górecki’s first symphony, composed during his studies. It was dedicated to one of his professors, Bolesław Szabelski. An incomplete premiere happened on 14 September 1959, at Warsaw Autumn Festival, with Polish National Radio Symphony under Jan Krenz performing 1st, 3rd, and 4th movements. The complete premiere happened on 15 July 1963 in Darmstadt, with Michael Gielen conducting West German Radio Symphony Orchestra. It was awarded 1st prize in UNESCO Youth Biennale of 1961 in Paris, and was quite successful at the time. It is scored for percussion (timpani, 3 snare drums without strings (soprano, alto, tenor), snare drum with string, 3 sustained cymbals (soprano, alto, tenor), xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, piano, harpsichord), 16 Violin 1, 16 Violin 2, 14 Viola, 12 Cello, 10 Bass.

P.S. The composer specifies the locations of each instrument, as shown at the beginning of the video.

Structure:
Mov.1 Inwokacja [Invocation] (0:05)
The first movement starts with cymbals, followed by dissonant chords from the strings. It maintains the shrieking feeling of the beginning till the end, but disturbed from time to times from the percussions.

Mov.2 Antyfona [Antiphon] (4:36)
This movement is a movement of contrast. It starts out very quietly, which provides stark contrast with the sudden bursts (such as the repeated A on (5:43). Tuned percussion instruments play a key role in here, including Piano, Xylophone, and Vibraphone (especially from 7:32). Another contrast happens with the entrance of Harpsichord at (8:33), which provides a sarcastic tone that contrasts with the polyrhythmic/chaotic section. After this, the music suddenly dies out.

Mov.3 Chorał [Chorale] (9:57)
In this Chorale, piano and viola plays the central role.

Mov.4 Lauda (13:05)
The finale is focused on the percussions, and the strings only plays the roles of accompaniment. It is full of irregular rhythms, as well as very confusing polyrhythms, which makes it a very hard segment for percussionists.

Performed by Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Roland Bader

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