Polish Requiem

During 1980, Penderecki was commissioned by the Polish trade union Solidarity to compose a piece to accompany the unveiling of a statue at the Gdańsk shipyards to commemorate those killed in the Polish anti-government riots in 1970. Penderecki responded with the Lacrimosa, dedicated to Lech Wałęsa, which he later expanded into this requiem, writing other parts in honour of different patriotic events. The Agnus Dei was composed in 1981 in memory of his friend, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. The Recordare was written in 1982 for the beatification of the Franciscan Maximilian Kolbe who was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The Dies irae was written in memory of the Warsaw Uprising of August and September 1944. Libera me, Domine was written commemorating the victims of the Katyn massacre. A first version of the requiem was performed on 28 September 1984 by the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovich. The composer remarked in 1998, speaking about the work's historical and patriotic significance: "I don't write political music. Political music is immediately obsolete. My Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima remains important because it is abstract music. The Requiem is dedicated to certain people and events, but the music has a broader significance." In 2005 the composer added another movement in memory of Pope John Paul II, Ciaccona "in memoria Giovanni Paolo II per archi" (in memory of John Paul II for strings). The completed Requiem was first performed on 17 September 2005 in Wrocław, during Wratislavia Cantans 2005, by Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, under the direction of the composer himself. ==Instrumentation, words and structure==

The Polish Requiem is scored for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and bass soloists, SATB mixed choirs, and an orchestra consisting of three flutes (third doubling piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets in B-flat, one bass clarinet, three bassoons, one contrabassoon; six horns in F, four trumpets in C, four trombones, one tuba; a percussion section consisting of 2 timpanists, three suspended cymbals, cymbals, 2 tam-tams, bass drum, snare drum, tenor drum, military snare drum, six tom-toms, five timbales, alto wood block, tubular bells, mass bell, church bells, ratchet, whip, glockenspiel, vibraphone, xylophone; and strings. It is structured in seventeen movements; the duration is given by the publisher Schott as 110 minutes. The additional ciaccona is set for string orchestra. It has been published, performed and recorded also separately. The name of the work is similar to A German Requiem, composed of sections from the bible in German. But Penderecki followed the liturgical Latin of the Requiem (Mass for the deceased) and expanded it by the Trisagion in Polish, Święty Boże, a "supplication sung in Poland in moments of danger" that appears in a separate movement (Offertorium) and also in the Recordare. Penderecki changed the order slightly by moving the Communion closer to the end and creating a Finale. • I Introitus – choir • II Kyrie – soloists, choir • Sequence Dies irae • III Dies irae – choir • IV Tuba mirum – bass, choir • V Mors stupebit – mezzo-soprano, choir • VI Quid sum miser – choir • VII Rex tremendae – bass, choir • VIII Recordare Jesu pie – music from Święty Boże, all soloists, choir • IX Ingemisco tanquam reus – soloists, choir • X Lacrimosa – soprano, female choir • XI Sanctus – mezzo-soprano, choir, Benedictus – tenor, choir • XII Ciaccona • XIII Agnus Dei – choir a cappella • XIV Communion Lux aeterna – choir • XV Libera me, Domine – soprano, soloists, choir • XVI Offertorium Święty Boże, święty mocny– soloists, choir • XVII Finale Libera animas – soloists, choir ==Oratorian music theatre==

Regina Chłopicka, an author of studies on Penderecki's music, wrote about his work in relation to earlier funeral masses: ==Premieres==

• Partial premiere (8 movements): 23 November 1983, Washington, D. C., National Symphony Orchestra, soloists, Choral Arts Society of Washington, conductor Mstislav Rostropovich. • Premiere: 28 September 1984, Stuttgart, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Choir of the Staatsoper Stuttgart and Südfunk-Chor, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Doris Soffel, Ryszard Karczykowski, Stafford Dean, conductor Mstislaw Rostropowitsch • Premiere of the revised version: 11 November 1993, Stockholm, Penderecki Festival 1993, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Katarina Dalayman, Brigitta Svendén, Zachos Terzakis, Kurt Rydl, conductor Krzysztof Penderecki • Premiere of the final version: September 17, 2005 – Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene (Wrocław, Poland), Wratislavia Cantans 2005, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, The Katowice City Singers' Ensemble Camerata Silesia, Izabela Kłosińska, Jadwiga Rappé, Adam Zdunikowski, Piotr Nowacki, conductor: Krzysztof Penderecki ==Recordings==

• Polish Requiem, Jadwiga Gadulanka (soprano), Jadwiga Rappé (mezzo-soprano), Henryk Grychnik (tenor), Carlo Zardo (bass), Polish Radio and Television Choir, Cracow Philharmonic Choir, Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, conductor Antoni Wit (1985) • Polish Requiem, Ingrid Haubold (soprano), Grazyna Winogrodska (mezzo-soprano), Zachos Terzakis (tenor), Malcolm Smith (bass), NDR Chor, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, NDR Sinfonieorchester, conducted by the composer (1990) • A Polish Requiem, Jadwiga Gadulanka (soprano), Jadwiga Rappé (mezzo-soprano), Zachos Terzakis (tenor), Piotr Nowacki (bass), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Chorus & Orchestra, conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki, Chandos (1995) • A Polish Requiem, Izabela Klosinska, Jadwiga Rappé, Ryszard Minkiewicz, Piotr Nowacki, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Antoni Wit, Naxos (2004) ==Performances and recordings of the Ciaccona==

• Premiere: 17 September 2005 Wrocław, St. Mary Magdalene, Wratislavia Cantans 2005, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, conductor Krzysztof Penderecki • recording Music for Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, conductor Krzystof Penderecki, Dux Recording (2009) ==Agnus Dei for cellos==

Penderecki arranged the Agnus Dei for eight cellos, first performed in the memorial service for Mstislav Rostropovich on 3 October 2007, in St. John's Church in Kronberg (Germany) by teachers and students of the Kronberg Academy, conducted by Frans Helmerson. ==References==