Henryk GÓRECKI (1933-2010)
Kleines Requiem für eine Polka, Op. 66 (1993) [23:38]
Lerchenmusik, Op. 53 (1984-86) [43:21]
Schönberg Ensemble/Reinbert de Leeuw (Requiem)
Harmen de Boer (clarinet), Larissa Groeneveld (cello), Reinbert de Leeuw (piano)
(Lerchenmusik)
rec. November 1993, Amsterdam. DDD
NEWTON CLASSICS 8802060 [66:59]
It is well known that Henryk Górecki received worldwide fame practically
overnight with the 1992 release on Nonesuch of his Symphony No. 3. The artists
were the London Sinfonietta under David Zinman with Dawn Upshaw as soprano
soloist and they were recorded in May 1991.
Though he composed the symphony as long ago as 1976, he was little known outside
his native Poland until that rather freak occurrence. While he is probably
still best known today for that symphony, the two works on the CD under
review are far more typical of the composer’s style. The first of these,
the Kleines Requiem, is the best place for a listener who knows only the Third
Symphony to gain a real appreciation of Górecki’s music. The
symphony with its three successive slow movements is very static in nature.
The Requiem contrasts the static (first and last movements) with the dynamic
(second and third). As Bernard Jacobson suggests in his very illuminating
notes, the influence of Messiaen on Górecki with his contrasts of loud
and soft is very apparent in both works. Jacobson also mentions Bartók
and Janáček as composers who have similarities to Górecki,
the latter in the use of incisive and lively rhythmic patterns. I hear a greater
likeness to one of Górecki’s direct contemporaries, the Georgian
Giya Kancheli whose music often emphasizes sudden dynamic contrasts.
Whereas much of Górecki’s music is very dark and serious, the
Kleines Requiem für eine Polka contains humorous elements. This is notable
in the third movement which is in fact a catchy polka. The work begins very
quietly with the piano playing a simple tune with tubular bells accompanying
softly. The violins enter with a melody over the piano. After about five minutes,
the music suddenly gets loud but soon retreats to its earlier mood with the
piano’s simple tune with bells. It ends quietly. The second movement
breaks in without a pause and is loud and agitated with brass taking the lead.
Then comes the comic polka led by the strings and winds with the piano playing
the polka rhythm. The last movement returns to the quiet of the first with
a bell sounding before the strings play a lyrical hymn. The bell and piano
are in the background until the horn adds a quiet solo to the mix. It continues
thus until near the end when the piano and distant bells make a passing reference
to the opening of the first movement. Górecki composed the work for
the performers on this disc, so one may justifiably call this recording authoritative.
It is certainly well performed by the thirteen members of the ensemble, which
includes flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion,
two violins, viola, cello and double bass. Of all the Górecki I’ve
heard I find this the most interesting, as it does not outstay its welcome.
Lerchenmusik for clarinet, cello, and piano, on the other hand, can try one’s
patience. It is nearly twice as long as the Requiem but lacks the sheer variety
of the other work. It comprises three movements, each basically in a slow
tempo. The first movement begins quietly in the lower register of the cello
and for the first six minutes or so it remains quiet. Then the piano explodes
with a series of loud incessantly repeated birdcalls over the cello - all
very reminiscent of Messiaen. A couple of minutes later there is a new, loud
pattern taken up by the clarinet. This also repeats and then combines with
the birdcalls. The movement ends quietly and one is relieved that it is over.
The second movement features the clarinet with a solo in the beginning that
builds slowly until it too becomes loud and nearly unbearable. Luckily, the
piano takes over later and the movement ends quietly. The three instruments
come together in the finale with the piano playing repeated chords similar
to those in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto.
However, after about a minute of quiet chords, the music gets loud and there
are more insistent avian noises. These alternate with the quiet chords and
make this movement easier to digest than the others. There is a particularly
beautiful passage starting at 3:36, where the Beethovenian repeated chords
on the piano over a sustained cello line create a hymn-like atmosphere. And
so it continues for some fifteen minutes with the quiet even restful music
alternating with louder pounding chords on the piano. At one point Górecki
quotes Beethoven directly, before the clarinet enters with a songful passage
accompanied by cello and piano. The music dies away quietly, with the piano
playing softly in a high register. Like the other work on the disc, one cannot
imagine a better performance than the one here.
If you are a fan of Górecki, you will not need my recommendation. If,
however, you have not been exposed to much of his music or only the Third
Symphony, you may want to try another recording of the Kleines Requiem. David
Zinman and the London Sinfonietta recorded it for Nonesuch, a disc that also
contains the short and attractive Harpsichord Concerto, and the work entitled
“Good Night” for soprano, alto flute, 5 tam-tams, and piano, with
Dawn Upshaw as soloist. That disc perhaps offers the best sampling of Górecki’s
music beyond the Third Symphony. The performances are as good as any, including
the one of the Kleines Requiem on the present disc. Incidentally, the main
theme in the Third Symphony’s first movement is rather similar to the
one in the second movement of Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet. I have not
read anywhere that Górecki intentionally borrowed it from Shostakovich.
One further note on the present disc: this is a reissue of material originally
appearing on the Philips label and is offered at budget cost. The entire production,
including Bernard Jacobson’s invaluable notes, is fully up to the standards
of a full-priced CD. The timings on the back of the case, though, are inaccurate
and I have listed the correct ones in the head-note above.
Leslie Wright
First-rate performances especially appealing to fans of the composer