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As the success of his film scores shows, Zbigniew Preisner knows exactly how to compose effective and immediately impressive music with an acute sense of timing. Requiem for My Friend, his first work written specifically for concert performance, also shows this ability, but placed in a new context. The first part, "Requiem", employs words from the Latin Missa pro defunctis, and one feels that the ghosts of chant and the polyphonic tradition are often not far away....one occasionally thinks of the Górecki of the Third Symphony or O Domina nostra, or Pärt.... This said, however, the work has its own sense of direction and cohesion and the relatively limited resources are put to very effective use.... there are memorable things particularly in the "Lacrimosa", which attains a real dramatic power with its repetitive melodic tag, and the "Offertory", whose character is defined by the subtle use of recitative vocal writing.
-- Gramophone Magazine
Bells, cymbals, tangy chromaticism, a pastoral fiddle solo, the impersonal declamation of the text, the innocence of a countertenor (not to mention the presence of a countertenor in the first place) and the lovely lisping, shushing sonority of passages in Polish: all these transport a listener deep into the imaginary mists of time. (...a disembodied, pulsing "Hosanna" recalls a "Kyrie" in Maury Yeston's remarkable score for the Broadway musical "Nine.")
-- Matthew Gurewitsch, The New York Times
Eerily atmospheric....Spatial sound and great emphasis on sonority is the key to its mood....it used, to great effect, the huge stage of the Grand Theatre, placing soloists, chorus, and orchestra in the middle of constantly shifting tableau using flaming torches, dry ice, and stunning lighting effects.
-- Brendan Carroll, BBC Music Magazine
Requiem for my Friend: (Zbigniew Preisner) Finally available in the United States is the most recent and large-scale effort by European composer Zbigniew Preisner. The section called "Life" on this album (the latter half) was originally intended (or inspired) to be part of an opera or other live performance, which would have been directed by Preisner's close associate, director Krzysztof Kieslowski. They had worked together on the Colours Trilogy: Blue, White, and Red, as well as Dekalog and The Double Life of Veronique. Preisner's other film scores of the past ten years include the highly acclaimed At Play in the Fields of the Lord and The Secret Garden. When Kieslowski passed away in 1996, Preisner composed a thirty-minute requiem in his memory, and attached it to the material inspired by "Life" for this combined album of concert suites.
The first half of the album, the requiem, exists in nine movements and was composed for a smaller ensemble of a soprano, organ, two countertenors, tenor, bass, string quintet and percussion. It was recorded in Warsaw Cathedral and the Emaus Church in Cracow, and the effect of the large recording facility on the acoustics is haunting. The second half of the album is slightly longer; it is also in nine movements and was composed for soprano, voice, countertenor, recorder, alto saxophone, piano, as well as a sixty-piece orchestra and forty-person choir. And although it was partly recorded in a studio instead of on location, its sound quality is equally impressive. The recording features the Polish soprano Elzbieta Towarnicka, whose singing is a trademark of Preisner's scores for the films by Krzysztof Kieslowski listed above.
Preisner's requiem is subdued and melancholy, with long moments of near silence. The emotional impact, interestingly, isn't as pronounced as that of the "Life" performances later on the album. The magnificent organ, which performs only during the requiem, is a highlight, adding a gothic and epic spirit to the composition. However, it is the latter half of the album that is far more illuminating and enjoyable. Preisner continues weaving his multilayered vocals in and out of this second section as well, and Towarnicka continues to provide sharp performances. The addition of 60 players and a 40-member chorus makes for the perfect combination on this album --heard best in the suite titled "Beginning" that occupies tracks ten through twelve. Eerie saxophone solos and single female vocals are accompanied by swelling performances by the full orchestra, providing for a more powerful melancholy listening experience.
Although the requiem was the primary performance of this dedicational album, the following concert section is the highlight. Preisner's requiem, although appropriate in every aspect of scoring, lacks the emotional punch on CD that it undoubtedly conveys when experiencing it in person. The performances throughout are excellent, and the "Life" concert arrangement has several moments of grand choral and orchestral style. These final thirty-seven minutes will most likely satisfy any enthusiast of dark, mystical, and thematically gripping choral music. The release by Erato Records, a division of Warner and Atlantic Records, is beautifully produced, with notes about Preisner and the music, as well as lyrics to the vocal performances.
www.filmtracks.com/titles/preisner.html