Górecki / Adrian Thomas.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thomas, Adrian, 1947-

Series:

Oxford studies of composers

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Górecki, Henryk Mikołaj, 1933-2010--Criticism and interpretation.

Górecki, Henryk Mikołaj.

Górecki, Henryk Mikołaj, 1933-2010.

Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

xviii, 187 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1997.

Summary:

The Polish composer Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki (born 1933) achieved world-wide renown in 1992 when his Third Symphony. written in 1976, was recorded on CD and became an international bestseller. It is now one of the best known musical compositions of recent years, yet Gorecki's other music is still relatively little known. This study, the first detailed account of his works in any language, provides biographical information as background to the music, and is by a leading enthusiast of Gorecki's music.

Adrian Thomas discusses Gorecki's position as leader of the Polish avant-garde in the late 1950s, and his discovery of the folk and church music of Old Poland, notably that of the Podhale region in southern Poland. He describes Gorecki's unmistakable musical world, from the large orchestral scores (Scontri, Refrain, the Symphonies) and the choral works (Beatus Vir, commissioned by and dedicated to Pope John Paul II), to the chamber music and the small-scale church songs and folk-song arrangements. There is a complete list of works since 1955 with details of instrumentation and recordings, and a select bibliography.

Contents:

Preludium xiii

I Songs of Joy and Rhythm 1

II Collisions 12

III Genesis 39

IV Old Polish Music 55

V Sacred Songs 69

VI Broad Waters 101

VII Quasi una fantasia 117.

Notes:

List of composer's works: pages 150-174.

Includes bibliogrpahical references (pages 175-179) and index.

ISBN:

0198163932

0198163940

OCLC:

34919789