Tab Article

This is 2CD set.
Content:

Symphony #2 "Christmas Symphony"
Te Deum
Lacrimosa
Magnificat
Kanon

Artists:

Jadwiga Gadulanka, soprano
Ewa Podles, mezzo-soprano
Wiesław Ochman, tenor
Andrzej Hiolski, baritone
Peter Lagger, bass
Soloists and Boys' Chorus from the Kraków Philharmonic Chorus
Polish Radio Chorus of Kraków
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra of Kraków
Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Second Symphony (1980) is hardly a celebratory work, its subtitle notwithstanding.
"Christmas Symphony" alludes to the rather baffling interpolation of "Silent Night" in the work's material. This 35-minute symphony in one movement could hardly be more serious, and it finds the composer embracing tonality and convention in a manner that would have been unthinkable to him twenty years earlier. As far as reactionary music goes, it gives the listener a run for his or her money, although there's little trace of Penderecki the sonic innovator here. The Te Deum (also 1980) was inspired, in part, by Karel Wojtyła's accession to the papacy. In contrast to other settings of the Te Deum, Penderecki eschews celebration for intense earnestness. What makes this work worth hearing, even though it too is quite conventional, is the choral writing, of which the composer remains a master, regardless of what style he writes in. The brief Lacrimosa is the third piece from 1980. (It was the Te Deum's discmate on the original LP release.) This is a genuine masterpiece, and a moving juxtaposition of an ancient sacred text with a contemporary situation: Penderecki wrote the Lacrimosa for the tenth anniversary of the Gdansk uprising.

The Magnificat (1974), although it is a transitional work, is a very fine one. Here, Penderecki is shedding his avant-garde skin and starting to embrace tonality. The tension between styles makes the music gripping. One might argue that Penderecki's intense and sometimes frightening writing is inappropriate for the Latin text. (Swooping choral glissandos and skittery string effects evoke images of flying saucers, not angels, glorifying the Virgin Mary.)

The Kanon (1962) brings these CDs to a close with a bang. When EMI Classics released its previous Penderecki compilation (double fforte 5 74302-2), I bemoaned the Kanon's absence, and I am happy to see it resurface here, although it is almost ridiculous to juxtapose it with the other works. This is Penderecki at his most experimental, and an impressive array of sounds is created through unusual playing techniques. Here, the composer also introduces a tape recorder, which records the performance in progress; later in the work, the orchestra plays to the accompaniment of this tape. At least one horror movie has used the explosive Kanon in its soundtrack, and I think it's safe to say that it will stop most listeners dead in their tracks.

The composer is a fine conductor, and I have no reason to believe that these recordings are not definitive. The engineering is serviceable or better – the Magnificat sounds a little woolly, a fault that was present on the LPs.

EMI continues to state that the "sung texts and translations," not included in the booklet notes, "are on the EMI Classics website." This would be a good space- and cost-saving strategy – if only it were true! Unfortunately, it isn't. Isn't it about time that the label got on the stick and either uploaded the goods or took that false claim out of their releases?