This
month we’ve been looking at various types of classical crossover. Today, let’s
look at a classical symphony that shocked everyone, including the composer, when
it topped Britain’s pop charts.
Henryk
Gorecki (1933–2010) never thought his Symphony No. 3 would become one of the
top selling contemporary classical recordings of all time, especially after it
was quickly forgotten following its 1977 premiere. It wasn’t until his
symphony, also known as “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs,” was released on a 1992
album with soprano Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta led by David Zinnman
that it became an international sensation.
Gorecki’s
Symphony No. 3 plays on deep emotions, each movement’s text taken from a Polish
text. The first movement uses the “Lament for the Holy Cross,” a liturgical
work dated from the 15th century. The second movement incorporates a
prayer that was found written on the wall of a Nazi prison in Poland from World
War II. The final movement uses a Polish folk song that refers to a mother who
mourns the loss of her son in battle. Perhaps these moving texts and the
stirring music are what sparked the symphony’s popularity?
Gorecki
ended up becoming the first living classical composer to have a pop hit in the
UK and a number one album on the US classical charts. You can hear the Symphony
of Sorrowful Songs below. Does it move you? Can you see why it experienced
success in both the classical and popular music worlds?
