Polish Requiem (; ), also A Polish Requiem, is a large-scale Requiem for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra by the Poland composer Krzysztof Penderecki. The Lacrimosa, dedicated to the trade union leader Lech Wałęsa, was written for the unveiling of a statue at the Gdańsk Shipyard to commemorate those killed in the Polish anti-government riots in 1970. He expanded the work into a requiem, writing other parts to honour different patriotic events over the next four years.
The Polish Requiem was first performed in Stuttgart on 28 September 1984. Penderecki revised and expanded the work in 1993, and expanded it again in 2005 with the additional movement, Ciaccona. It is called Polish Requiem because its parts are dedicated to heroes and victims of Polish history.
One of the better-known works by Penderecki, the mass largely follows the liturgical Latin of the requiem format with the addition of Święty Boże, the Polish translation of the Trisagion.
History
During 1980, Penderecki was commissioned by the Polish trade union Solidarity to compose a piece to accompany the unveiling of a statue at the Gdańsk shipyards to commemorate those killed in the Polish anti-government riots in 1970. Penderecki responded with the Lacrimosa, dedicated to Lech Wałęsa, which he later expanded into this requiem, writing other parts in honour of different patriotic events. The Agnus Dei was composed in 1981 in memory of his friend, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. The Recordare was written in 1982 for the
beatification of the
Franciscan Maximilian Kolbe who was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The Dies irae was written in memory of the
Warsaw Uprising of August and September 1944.
[ A Polish Requiem review of a recording and notes (including single movements) by Chua Gan Ee, 1999] Libera me, Domine was written commemorating the victims of the
Katyn massacre.
[ Polish Cultural Institute, 2010] A first version of the requiem was performed on 28 September 1984 by the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovich.
In 1993 the Sanctus was added and the revised version conducted by the composer at a Penderecki festival in Stockholm on 11 November 1993.[ A Polish Requiem liner notes by Richard Whitehouse, for Naxos] The composer remarked in 1998, speaking about the work's historical and patriotic significance: "I don't write political music. Political music is immediately obsolete. My Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima remains important because it is abstract music. The Requiem is dedicated to certain people and events, but the music has a broader significance."[ Krystof Penderecki Talks about the Polish Requiem La Scena musicale, 1998]
In 2005 the composer added another movement in memory of Pope John Paul II, Ciaccona "in memoria Giovanni Paolo II per archi" (in memory of John Paul II for strings).[ Ciaccona Schott] The completed Requiem was first performed on 17 September 2005 in Wrocław, during Wratislavia Cantans 2005, by Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, under the direction of the composer himself.
Instrumentation, words and structure
The
Polish Requiem is scored for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and bass soloists,
SATB mixed choirs, and an orchestra consisting of three
(third doubling
piccolo), three
, three
in B-flat, one
bass clarinet, three
, one
contrabassoon; six
French horn in F, four
in C, four
, one
tuba; a percussion section consisting of 2 timpanists, three suspended cymbals,
, 2
,
bass drum,
snare drum,
tenor drum, military snare drum, six
Tom-tom drum, five
timbales, alto wood block,
, mass bell,
, ratchet, whip,
glockenspiel,
vibraphone,
xylophone; and
string section. It is structured in seventeen movements, the duration is given by the publisher
Schott Music as 110 minutes.
[ Polnisches Requiem Schott, s. "Content" for the movements] The additional
Chaconne is set for string orchestra. It has been published, performed and recorded also separately.
The name of the work is similar to A German Requiem, composed of sections from the bible in German. But Penderecki followed the liturgical Latin of the Requiem (Mass for the deceased) and expanded it by the Trisagion in Polish, Święty Boże, a "supplication sung in Poland in moments of danger"[ Krzysztof Penderecki, "Polish Requiem" on CULTURE.PL, Polish Culture, 2004] that appears in a separate movement (Offertorium) and also in the Recordare.
-
I Introitus – choir
-
II Kyrie – soloists, choir
-
Sequence Dies irae
-
III Dies irae – choir
-
IV Tuba mirum – bass, choir
-
V Mors stupebit – mezzo-soprano, choir
-
VI Quid sum miser – choir
-
VII Rex tremendae – bass, choir
-
VIII Recordare Jesu pie – music from Święty Boże, all soloists, choir
-
IX Ingemisco tanquam reus – soloists, choir
-
X Lacrimosa – soprano, female choir
-
XI Sanctus – mezzo-soprano, choir, Benedictus – tenor, choir
-
XII Ciaccona
-
XIII Agnus Dei – choir a cappella
-
XIV Communion Lux aeterna – choir
-
XV Libera me, Domine – soprano, soloists, choir
-
XVI Offertorium Święty Boże, święty mocny– soloists, choir
-
XVII Finale Libera animas – soloists, choir
Oratorian music theatre
Regina Chłopicka, an author of studies on Penderecki's music, wrote about his work in relation to earlier funeral masses:
Premieres
-
Partial premiere (8 movements): 23 November 1983, Washington, D. C., National Symphony Orchestra, soloists, Choral Arts Society of Washington, conductor Mstislav Rostropovich.
-
Premiere: 28 September 1984, Stuttgart, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Choir of the Staatsoper Stuttgart and Südfunk-Chor, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Doris Soffel, Ryszard Karczykowski, Stafford Dean, conductor Mstislaw Rostropowitsch
-
Premiere of the revised version: 11 November 1993, Stockholm, Penderecki Festival 1993, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Katarina Dalayman, Brigitta Svendén, Zachos Terzakis, Kurt Rydl, conductor Krzysztof Penderecki
-
Premiere of the final version: September 17, 2005 – Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene (Wrocław, Poland), Wratislavia Cantans 2005, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, The Katowice City Singers' Ensemble Camerata Silesia, Izabela Kłosińska, Jadwiga Rappé, Adam Zdunikowski, Piotr Nowacki, conductor: Krzysztof Penderecki
Recordings
-
Polish Requiem, Jadwiga Gadulanka (soprano), Jadwiga Rappé (mezzo-soprano), Henryk Grychnik (tenor), Carlo Zardo (bass), Polish Radio and Television Choir, Cracow Philharmonic Choir, Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, conductor Antoni Wit (1985)
-
Polish Requiem, Ingrid Haubold (soprano), Grazyna Winogrodska (mezzo-soprano), Zachos Terzakis (tenor), Malcolm Smith (bass), NDR Chor, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, NDR Sinfonieorchester, conducted by the composer (1990)
-
A Polish Requiem, Jadwiga Gadulanka (soprano), Jadwiga Rappé (mezzo-soprano), Zachos Terzakis (tenor), Piotr Nowacki (bass), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Chorus & Orchestra, conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki, Chandos Records (1995)
-
A Polish Requiem, Izabela Klosinska, Jadwiga Rappé, Ryszard Minkiewicz, Piotr Nowacki, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Antoni Wit, Naxos Records (2004)
[ Naxos recording Details, two published reviews]
Performances and recordings of the Ciaccona
-
Premiere: 17 September 2005 Wrocław, St. Mary Magdalene, Wratislavia Cantans 2005, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, conductor Krzysztof Penderecki
-
Concert for the 75th birthday of the composer: 11 July 2008 Eberbach Abbey, Rheingau Musik Festival, Sinfonietta Cracovia, conductor Krzysztof Penderecki
-
22 May 2009 Seoul Arts Center, Seoul International Music Festival, Opening concert Beyond Ideology, Korean Chamber Orchestra
[ Seoul International Music Festival program notes]
-
recording Music for Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, conductor Krzystof Penderecki, Dux Recording (2009)
Agnus Dei for cellos
Penderecki arranged the Agnus Dei for eight cellos, first performed in the memorial service for Mstislav Rostropovich on 3 October 2007, in St. John's Church in Kronberg (Germany) by teachers and students of the
Kronberg Academy, conducted by Frans Helmerson.
Further reading
-
Chłopicka, Regina. 1985. "Polskie Requiem". Ruch Muzyczny 29, no. 19 (September): 3–4.
-
Revers, Peter. 2001. "'Venit dies magnus irae ipsorum': Zur Vision der Apokalypse in Krzysztof Pedereckis Dies irae und Polnisches Requiem". In Apokalypse: Symposion 1999, edited by Carmen Ottner, 281–95. Studien zu Franz Schmidt 13. Vienna: Doblinger. .
-
Schuler, Manfred. 1992. "Pendereckis Hommage an Mozart". Die Musikforschung 45, no. 3:279–82.
-
Tsetanova, Petya: Das Requiem. Ein Erinnerungsort. Das War Requiem von Benjamin Britten und das Polski Requiem von Krysztof Penderecki als musikalische Erinnerungsdenkmäler des 20. Jahrhunderts in: Nieper, Lena und Schmitz, Julian (Hrsg.): Musik als Medium der Erinnerung. Gedächtnis – Geschichte- Gegenwart. transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld 2016,
External links
