This new release from DUX presents Henryk Gorecki's Beatus vir Op 38, Concerto-Cantata Op 65, and Canticum Graduum Op 27. Gorecki's Beatus vir, psalm for solo baritone, mixed choir, and large orchestra, Op. 38 to a text drawn from five psalms, was created on commission of Karol Wojtyla, the then metropolitan bishop of Krakow, on the occasion of the 900th anniversary of the death of St. Stanislaus. It was first performed during the first papal visit of John Paul II to Poland in 1979.
In the Beatus vir, Gorecki, in particular, fulfilled his desire to write a larger piece for choir and orchestra that would use and clearly refer to the well-known church traditions, beloved by him. The piece is permeated with harmonic arrangements, melodic phrases, and repeated textual psalmody, which are immediately understood by Polish listeners. Pope John Paul II commended the Beatus vir, thanking Grecki publicly for providing such a deep experience.
The Concerto-Cantata was commissioned by an American flautist of Slovak origin, Carol Wincenc, and consists of four expressively distinctive movements. The Recitativo, which opens the concerto, is a five-minute slow solo of the alto flute; the Arioso; a contrasting third movement, Concertino, which is a spontaneous, almost wild dance; and the fourth movement a spiritual Arioso e corale.
The Canticum graduum was commissioned by the West German Radio Symphony Orchestra and dedicated to Otto Tomek, an editor of the radio station who was extremely kind to Polish music. Unlike the Old Polish Music, which operates with strong textural contrasts, the Canticum graduum is a sonically homogeneous piece.
