Górecki (Oxford Studies of Composers) - Tapa dura

Adrian Thomas's monograph felicitously bridges a substantial gap in the study not only of the history of contemporary Polish music but also of the history of twentieth-century music more generally ... A particularly valuable feature ... is its documentary material. (Zbigniew Skowron)

a detailed work-by-work study by a leading expert who knows the composer, fleshed out with biographical details and useful appendices; there are copious music examples ... a highly detailed text which veers between analytical charts and more straightforward descriptive writing (Gramophone, September 1997)

The Polish composer Henryk Górecki (born 1933) achieved world-wide renown in 1992 when his Third Symphony, written in 1976, was recorded on CD and became an international bestseller. It is now one of the best known musical compositions of recent years, yet Górecki's other music is still relatively little known. This study, by a leading enthusiast of Górecki's music, is the first detailed account of his works in any language, and provides biographical information as background to the music.

Adrian Thomas discusses Górecki's position as leader of the Polish avant-garde in the late 1950s, and his subsequent discovery of the folk and church music of Old Poland, notably that of the Podhale region in southern Poland. He describes Górecki's unmistakable musical world, from the large orchestral scores (Sconti, Refrain, the Symphonies) and the choral works (Beatus Vir, commissioned by and dedicated to Pope John Paul II), to the more modest church songs and folk-song arrangements. There is a complete list of works since 1955 with details of instrumentation and recordings, and a select bibliography.