Henryk Górecki
“Whilst the slow, mournful music fully articulates the weight of death and grief, instead of being catapulted into corresponding misery, it has the surprising effect of throwing the listener into a state of contemplation, reverie and even hope… The dissonant melancholy, however, is never far away. The Kronos Quartet’s interpretation is, unsurprisingly, perfectly judged, and conjures up an eerie, absorbing sound world… As the last chord dies away, it seems almost a sin to break the spell by moving or talking too soon.”
…songs are sung is Henryk Mikolaj Górecki’s third string quartet. In 1992, after having commissioned, premiered, and recorded the Polish composer’s first two string quartets, Kronos Quartet requested a third. After persuasive exchanges with Kronos’ founder and artistic director, David Harrington, Górecki agreed, and the world premiere performance was announced for the group’s solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 1994. But the piece never arrived.
In Spring 2005, after 13 years of persistence and patience, the Kronos received the score — a 50-minute magnum opus with the dedication, “To the Kronos Quartet, which for so many years has waited patiently for this quartet.” In a commentary attached to the score, Górecki added that the work had been completed in 1995, “but I continued to hold back from releasing it to the world. I don’t know why.”
The title, originally Pieśni Śpiewają, is inspired by the last line of a short poem by the Russian poet Velimir Khlebnikov – “When people die, they sing songs.”
SELECT CREDITS
Kronos Quartet
David Harrington, violin
John Sherba, violin
Hank Dutt, viola
Jeffrey Zeigler, cello
Produced by Judith Sherman
Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz
String Quartet No. 3 (“…songs are sung”)
Released by Nonesuch Records
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