Reviewed by John Irvine

Now, you've either already bought this, and don't need me to review it, or you've already decided not to buy it, in which case you're probably not even reading this review. This disc has been played to death on Classic FM and even on Radio One. It's the only classical album ever to come within spitting distance of the number one slot in the LP charts. It has been the subject of furious debate in the press and the subject of a South Bank Show documentary (ITV April 1993). Despite the inclusion of a 15th century lament from the Holy Cross Monastery, and a prayer to the Virgin written by an 18 year old girl in a Gestapo prison, the composer, Henryk Gorecki, does not want the work to be viewed as a religious piece. And Gorecki himself is not exactly a shining example of Polish Catholicism. So why review this piece in Cross Rhythms? Because I think Gorecki is wrong! The Third Symphony, particularly the first movement with its heavy tear-laden strings speaks to me of immense sorrow - the sorrow of God over a broken world, where children are bombed, murdered and abused, where 'ethnic cleansing' and genocide are daily rituals, and where six million Jews were lost in the holocaust - a holocaust most people under 30 do not know about or do not care about. Gorecki's symphony is not about Auschwitz, but it could have been. To me this music speaks of hope mixed with sorrow, sorrow mingled with hope. To that end I think Cross Rhythms readers might find this music useful as an aid to contemplation, particularly during Lent and Easter. Gorecki says that he did not set out to write a religious piece. Perhaps, unwittingly, he succeeded.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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