The sixth movement opens as a Hebrew speaker relates the famous story from Ezekiel (37:1 - 10), one of his fantastic vision journeys, this one in the valley covered with dry bones. The Lord tells him to address the bones, "Hear the word of the Lord!". We hear orchestral sounds of tone clusters, and dry gourds suggesting the bones and the desert valley, sounds reminiscent of Penderecki's groundbreaking avant-garde techniques. The prophecy is at the same time an allusion to the resurrection of the Jewish people after the Holocaust. Strings, brass, and percussion add powerful evocative commentary to the narrator's voice. The bones join, gain flesh, and the four winds enter them giving them breath, and they rise up "a vast army". A low trumpet performs solos between the recitations, representing the voice of God. A powerful climax leads us directly into the final movement. The seventh movement begins with the chorus with a powerful line of Book of Jeremiah, 21.8 (... the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death). The tenor begins a dramatic recitative with the texts of the book of Daniel 7,13 and that of Isaiah 59,19. Bass joins in on the intense dialogue. After a brief orchestral interlude, the female choirs interpret the verses from the book of Isaiah 60:1-2 without diminishing the tension. Female soloists continue to perform various dramatic solos. The choir then interrupts beginning the recapitulation of the work by repeating Psalm 48.2 of the first movement of the symphony in a more intense and solemn way. It continues with the text from Isaiah, 60.11, and the song of praise from Psalm 96.1 to 3, also as a recapitulation of the second theme of the first movement, where the soloists insistently repeat the word "annuntiate". The chorus continues once more solemnly repeating the first theme with Psalm 48.2, inserting a verse from Psalm 48.15. The music intensifies towards its final climax, culminating in seven powerful chords that end the whole work.
Wow, Sergio, that is amazing, your comment about Ezekiel 37. I am in a Bible study now and we are at that exact same place -- his vision of the valley of dry bones. Thank you for a beautiful experience.
Gracias una vez más. Una obra interesantísima. La amplitud estilística de Penderecki es extraordinaria. Ciertamente hay ecos de Mahler y de Wagner, pero muy en el fondo, porque increíblemente "es" y suena del autor en muchos aspectos. Esta obra es mucho más concentrada y el tratamiento orientalizante no se parece ni a Pucini ni a Debussy ni a otros art deco. Aquí hay "sustancia" musical y poética. El ambiente del poema se respira, al igual que una cierta atmósfera decadente y cortesana, lánguida, como en la Historia del pabellón rojo. La escucharé más veces. Un regalo magnífico del canal.
Ich bin gerade erst zum ersten Mal auf diese Sinfonie gestoßen und bin absolut überwältigt. Penderecki ist ein Meister der Klangmalerei und schafft es hier, eine ganz eigene Atmosphäre zu erschaffen. Die Musik ist atmosphärisch, bewegend und gleichzeitig kraftvoll. Ich kann diese Sinfonie jedem Klassikliebhaber wärmstens empfehlen. Es ist ein Meisterwerk, das man sich nicht entgehen lassen sollte.
![Symphony No.8 ''Songs of Transience'' [Revised Version] - Krzysztof Penderecki](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aeXGtjx415A/mqdefault.jpg)
![Symphony No.8 ''Songs of Transience'' [Revised Version] - Krzysztof Penderecki](/img/tr.png)
The sixth movement opens as a Hebrew speaker relates the famous story from Ezekiel (37:1 - 10), one of his fantastic vision journeys, this one in the valley covered with dry bones. The Lord tells him to address the bones, "Hear the word of the Lord!". We hear orchestral sounds of tone clusters, and dry gourds suggesting the bones and the desert valley, sounds reminiscent of Penderecki's groundbreaking avant-garde techniques. The prophecy is at the same time an allusion to the resurrection of the Jewish people after the Holocaust. Strings, brass, and percussion add powerful evocative commentary to the narrator's voice. The bones join, gain flesh, and the four winds enter them giving them breath, and they rise up "a vast army". A low trumpet performs solos between the recitations, representing the voice of God. A powerful climax leads us directly into the final movement.
The seventh movement begins with the chorus with a powerful line of Book of Jeremiah, 21.8 (... the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death). The tenor begins a dramatic recitative with the texts of the book of Daniel 7,13 and that of Isaiah 59,19. Bass joins in on the intense dialogue. After a brief orchestral interlude, the female choirs interpret the verses from the book of Isaiah 60:1-2 without diminishing the tension. Female soloists continue to perform various dramatic solos. The choir then interrupts beginning the recapitulation of the work by repeating Psalm 48.2 of the first movement of the symphony in a more intense and solemn way. It continues with the text from Isaiah, 60.11, and the song of praise from Psalm 96.1 to 3, also as a recapitulation of the second theme of the first movement, where the soloists insistently repeat the word "annuntiate". The chorus continues once more solemnly repeating the first theme with Psalm 48.2, inserting a verse from Psalm 48.15. The music intensifies towards its final climax, culminating in seven powerful chords that end the whole work.
Wow, Sergio, that is amazing, your comment about Ezekiel 37. I am in a Bible study now and we are at that exact same place -- his vision of the valley of dry bones. Thank you for a beautiful experience.
Gracias una vez más. Una obra interesantísima. La amplitud estilística de Penderecki es extraordinaria. Ciertamente hay ecos de Mahler y de Wagner, pero muy en el fondo, porque increíblemente "es" y suena del autor en muchos aspectos. Esta obra es mucho más concentrada y el tratamiento orientalizante no se parece ni a Pucini ni a Debussy ni a otros art deco. Aquí hay "sustancia" musical y poética. El ambiente del poema se respira, al igual que una cierta atmósfera decadente y cortesana, lánguida, como en la Historia del pabellón rojo. La escucharé más veces. Un regalo magnífico del canal.
Perdón. Esto se refiere a la sexta sinfonía.
thank you for the wonderful music and the programme notes.
Never have I been so touched by a piece on first impressions: as this one - truly, inducing my heart to a heated fervor.
Ich bin gerade erst zum ersten Mal auf diese Sinfonie gestoßen und bin absolut überwältigt. Penderecki ist ein Meister der Klangmalerei und schafft es hier, eine ganz eigene Atmosphäre zu erschaffen. Die Musik ist atmosphärisch, bewegend und gleichzeitig kraftvoll.
Ich kann diese Sinfonie jedem Klassikliebhaber wärmstens empfehlen. Es ist ein Meisterwerk, das man sich nicht entgehen lassen sollte.
And Antoni Wit gives us another superb recording of his symphonies. Many thanks to you.
thanks for sharing this piece
sodelicious............