Górecki composition performed posthumously
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
27.10.2015 12:10
An oratorio by the Polish composer Henryk Mikołaj Górecki is to have its world premiere in Kraków on 4 November, a week before the fifth anniversary of his death.
Photo: Flickr.com/MITO SettembreMusica
Entitled “Sanctus Adalbertus”, it is scored for soprano, baritone, mixed choir and symphony orchestra and will be performed by the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Polish Radio Choir from Kraków and the Krakow Philharmonic Choir conducted by Jacek Kaspszyk, with Wioletta Chodowicz (soprano) and Artur Ruciński (baritone) as the soloists.
The work was composed in 1997-1998 but left unperformed at the time of Górecki’s death.
Its full score has been prepared for performance by Górecki’s son, Mikołaj, an accomplished composer himself.
“Sanctus Adalbertus” is a tribute to Saint Adalbert, one of Poland’s patron saints, who was martyred by the pagan Baltic Prussians.
Setting the scene for the work’s premiere, the director of the Kraków-based Polish Music Publishers PWM, Daniel Cichy, expressed hope at a press conference in Warsaw that it would be a great event for the entire musical world.
“It is extremely rare for a composer of Górecki’s stature to have his major work performed posthumously,” he said.
The premiere of “Sanctus Adalbertus” will be one of the highlights of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Polish Music Publishers.
On 11 November, the work will be performed by the same musicians in the Silesian capital of Katowice, where Henryk Mikołaj Górecki lived almost all his life and where he died. (mk/rg/rk)