The song of sorrow shall ring laughingly in your soul.… Read more
When the sorrow comes, blasted lie the gardens of the soul,
wither and perish joy and singing.
Dark is life, dark is death!
[…]
The heavens are ever blue and the Earth
shall stand sure, and blossom in the spring.
Also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, this work got Henryk Gorecki in the attention of the wide public, being before then known only to a restricted circle of 20th century modern music connoisseurs. Despite having sold over a million copies, it remains a controversial work, being loved by the public and rather dismissed by critics.… Read more
Johannes Ockeghem was a major composer of early Renaissance, having served as singer and composer in Paris, at the court of three French kings in the second half of the 15th century. Complex polyphonies, emphasis on bass lines and freely composed melodies (the norm then was to borrow pre-existing songs) are the key elements that mark him as one of the most influential musicians of his time, and “Missa prolationum” encompasses all of them.… Read more