The Agnus Dei of A Polish Requiem was composed in 1981 as a memorial tribute to the Polish religious figure Cardinal Wyszynski.
Composition History
Krzysztof Penderecki's A Polish Requiem was composed over 13 years, beginning in 1980 with the Lacrimosa, written for Lech Walesa and his trade union Solidarity.
Composition History
The Dies Irae section of A Polish Requiem was added in 1984 as a fortieth-anniversary remembrance of the Warsaw uprising against Nazi occupation.
Compositional Technique
A vital unifying factor in A Polish Requiem is the traditional Polish hymn Swiety Boze (Holy, Almighty and Eternal God, have mercy upon us), which symbolizes the work's purpose as a requiem for the Polish nation's sufferings.
Performer Biography
Antoni Wit, the conductor, studied conducting with Krzysztof Penderecki, the composer of A Polish Requiem, at the Academy of Music in Cracow.
Composition History
The Recordare Jesu pie section of A Polish Requiem was written to mark the beatification of Father Maximilian Kolbe, who volunteered to die in Auschwitz in place of another prisoner.
Compositional Technique
A Polish Requiem combines the Neo-Romanticism of Krzysztof Penderecki's later 1970s music with the experimental procedures of his earlier years.
