Górecki: Miserere
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79348
Track Listing
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132:39
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26:24
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38:36
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44:30
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54:21
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61:12
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73:38
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81:56
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94:05
News & Reviews
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Polish composer Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, was released on Nonesuch Records 25 years ago today, April 24, 1992. Górecki had composed the piece in 1976, but it didn't appear on disc until then. The recording of the emotionally affecting piece, featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta led by conductor David Zinman, proved spellbinding to a diverse international audience, becoming the highest-selling album ever by a contemporary composer. "Perhaps people find something they need in this piece of music," Górecki speculated. "Somehow I hit the right note, something they were missing."
Today marks the release of the late Henryk Górecki’s final composition, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, recorded during the 2014 world premiere performance at Royal Festival Hall with London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko. The piece, incomplete at the time of Górecki’s death, had precise indications for orchestration, which Górecki’s son Mikolaj, also a composer, used to complete it. NPR calls it "an intriguing summation of the sounds of a singular career." Symphony No. 4 is out individually and as part of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set containing all Nonesuch recordings of Górecki works. Also out now: the first vinyl LP of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3.
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About This Album
Composed during a period of Polish national upheaval in 1981, Miserere is unique among Górecki’s works in its overtly political inspiration. Written for unaccompanied choir, the piece demonstrates the composer’s interest in choral music and his penchant for large-scale, gradually evolving structures. Also included are additional Górecki choral works, with performances by the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Lira Chamber Chorus.
Credits
MUSICIANS
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Section leaders: Mary Ann Beatty, soprano; Gail Friesema, Kathye Kerchner, alto; Edward K. Osaki, James P. Yarbrough, tenor; Charles M. Olson, Kip Snyder, bass
Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus
Lira Chamber Chorus
Lucy Ding, conductorPRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Philip Waldway
Recorded April 25-27, 1994, at St. Mary of the Angels Church, Chicago
Eugineered by Henk Kooistra, Soundmirror, Boston, Massachusetts
Edited and mixed by Kees de Visser, Galaxy Studios, Mol, Belgium
Design: John Heiden
Cover photographs by Jim Bengston
Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz
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Composed during a period of Polish national upheaval in 1981, Miserere is unique among Górecki’s works in its overtly political inspiration. Written for unaccompanied choir, the piece demonstrates the composer’s interest in choral music and his penchant for large-scale, gradually evolving structures. Also included are additional Górecki choral works, with performances by the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Lira Chamber Chorus.
Composed during a period of Polish national upheaval in 1981, Miserere is unique among Górecki’s works in its overtly political inspiration. Written for unaccompanied choir, the piece demonstrates the composer’s interest in choral music and his penchant for large-scale, gradually evolving structures. Also included are additional Górecki choral works, with performances by the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Lira Chamber Chorus.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Philip Waldway
Recorded April 25-27, 1994, at St. Mary of the Angels Church, Chicago
Eugineered by Henk Kooistra, Soundmirror, Boston, Massachusetts
Edited and mixed by Kees de Visser, Galaxy Studios, Mol, Belgium
Design: John Heiden
Cover photographs by Jim Bengston
Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

79348
MUSICIANS
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Section leaders: Mary Ann Beatty, soprano; Gail Friesema, Kathye Kerchner, alto; Edward K. Osaki, James P. Yarbrough, tenor; Charles M. Olson, Kip Snyder, bass
Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus
Lira Chamber Chorus
Lucy Ding, conductor