91福利社

The 91福利社 Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Antoni Wit, celebrate the music of Henryk Gorecki at the Barbican. Including the powerful Symphony No. 2 'Copernican' and 'Kyrie'.

Recorded 3rd October at the Barbican, London

Presented by Petroc Trelawny with guest Adrian Thomas

Gorecki: Old Polish Music Op.24
Gorecki: Kyrie Op. 83 (UK Premiere)

8.15
INTERVAL: Gorecki's String Quartet No 1, 'Already it is Dusk' performed by the Silesian String Quartet during the 91福利社 Symphony Orchestra's Total Immersion: Henryk Gorecki - Polish Pioneer.

8.35
Gorecki: Harpsichord Concerto
Gorecki: Symphony No. 2 'Copernican'

Marie Arnet (soprano)
Marcus Farnsworth (baritone)
Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord)
91福利社 Symphony Chorus
91福利社 Symphony Orchestra
Antoni Wit (conductor)

The late Henryk Gorecki came to universal fame in the early 1990s with his extraordinary Third Symphony, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. The 91福利社 Symphony Orchestra turned the spotlight on him on Saturday 3rd October in a day of concerts at the Barbican, London, in Total Immersion: Henryk Gorecki - Polish Pioneer.

This concert features the UK premiere of the Kyrie (2005), evocatively scored for strings, piano and percussion with chorus - the 91福利社 Symphony Chorus - and Mahan Esfahani is the soloist in the Harpsichord Concerto. In this unusual work the harpsichord lends ferocious dynamism to its granitic textures in contrast to the monumental stillness of the Symphony No. 2 'Copernican', in which the full 91福利社 Symphony Orchestra is joined by Marie Arnet, Marcus Farnsworth and, again, the 91福利社 Symphony Chorus.