Henryk Gorecki's reputation is unavoidably linked to his
Symphony No. 3, Op. 36 ("Symphony of Sorrowful Songs"), which was composed in 1976 but did not gain international popularity until it was recorded by soprano
Dawn Upshaw in 1992. The work deserves its celebrity, but the delayed reaction tends to obscure the fact that
Gorecki wrote a good deal of what is now called holy minimalism before there was any such thing. Consider the
Church Songs, Op. 84, composed in 1986 but not published until 2013. They have been aptly described by the musicologist
Mieczyslaw Tomaszewski: "
Gorecki was able to crystallize from traditional religious song something that was no longer conventional." The 20 pieces recorded here -- on two CDs -- are mostly quite short, but there are several more extended works. In Latin, they are a pure reflection of
Gorecki's Catholic faith. The songs, as the title suggests, resemble in their basic language what a Polish church organist might have furnished for everyday service, but as
Tomaszewski notes, they are something more than Gebrauchsmusik (or music for everyday use). Some are longer, some push the harmonies slightly, and some are denser. It is a novel concept, and it is hard to imagine a better performance than that given here by the
Polish Chamber Choir under director
Jan Lukaszewski. The singers achieve a smooth, rich sound that doesn't lose the simplicity that is the basis of the music, and it is augmented by the
Ondine label's fine engineering work at the acoustically ideal Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Gdansk. This is a release that will be welcomed by
Gorecki's fans and admirers. ~ James Manheim
