Penderecki: Te Deum (1979-80)

Krzysztof Penderecki (born 1933) had a reputation for being something of an “enfant terrible" by his use of new sonorities with note clusters and massive glissandi but there is no doubt that these were used to heighten the impact of the message he wished to express. His devout Catholicism stimulated many moving choral works and this collection contains two large – Magnificat (premiered 1974, recorded 1975) and Te Deum (premiered 1980, recorded 1983) and the short Lacrimosa (premiered 1980, recorded 1983). The Te Deum was started on the day that his friend Karel Woityla became, as John Paul II, the first Polish Pope. His second symphony, written for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, was originally intended as a multi-movement work but on Christmas Eve 1979 he decided to complete it in one movement. The collection concludes with Kanon a work dating from 1962. All the works are performed by Polish artists under the direction of the composer.