Henryk Górecki

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki is a Polish composer of classical music. Górecki's work in the late 1950s and 1960s was characterised by a dissonant modernism influenced by Nono, Stockhausen, and his contemporaries Penderecki and Serocki. In the mid 1970s, he moved towards a 'pure' sacred minimalist sound, encapsulated by the 1976 Symphony No. 3. Though he has remained primarily a religious composer, Górecki has progressed through several distinct styles, from the reverence of Beatus Vir (1979), to the meditative Miserere (1981), to the spiritualism of Good Night (1990).

By the early 1970s, Górecki had begun to move away from his early career as radical modernist, and towards a more traditional, romantic mode of expression. His change of style was seen as an affront by the avant-garde establishment, and though he continued to receive commissions from various Polish agencies, he ceased to be viewed as a composer that mattered. One critic later wrote that "Górecki's new material was no longer cerebral and sparse; rather, it was intensely expressive, persistently rhythmic and often richly colored in the darkest of orchestral hues.

Górecki's music covers a variety of styles, but tends towards relative harmonic and rhythmical simplicity. He is considered to be a founder of the New Polish School, and his first works were in the avant-garde style of Pierre Boulez and other serialists. Górecki's most popular piece is his Third Symphony, subtitled Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (Symfonia pieśni żałosnych). Slow and contemplative, the three movements are composed for orchestra and solo soprano. The words of the first movement are from a 15th century lament; the words of the second from a teenage girl, Helena Błażusiak, written on the wall of a Gestapo prison cell in Zakopane to invoke the protections of the Virgin Mary; the third movement uses a folk song.

When placing Górecki in the context of the history of modern art, commentators usually compare his work with such composers as Messiaen, and Ives. He has said that he feels kindred with such figures as Bach, Mozart, and Haydn, though he feels most affinity towards Schubert, particularly in terms of tonal design and treatment of basic materials.

>> listen Song II (Lento e Largo)
>> listen Lerchenmusik, Op. 53 "Molto Lento"
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