Arguably, Wojciech Kilar’s
greatest successes have been in the field
of film music, notably his score for Francis
Ford Coppola’s movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Yet his early career saw him very much at
the heart of the Polish avant-garde school,
alongside his close contemporaries Penderecki
and Górecki. Like his contemporaries
he presented his early avant-garde works at
the first Warsaw Autumn Festival, also attending
the Darmstadt Summer School in 1957 and studying
with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Again, like
his contemporaries, his works from the 1970’s
onwards have rejected atonality, concerning
themselves with a newfound simplicity and
directness of expression.
Where his work has perhaps
always differed from his colleagues is in
his fascination for Polish folk music and
traditional sources. It is clearly in evidence
in the earliest work on the disc, Krzesany,
dating from 1974. Inspired by the Polish mountains
the work opens with densely rich, resonant
string chords that immediately bring to mind
Górecki. Kilar soon ploughs his own
path however, the music moving through a sequence
of passages, some contemplative, some, as
in the first return of the opening chords,
now blazing with brass accompaniment. The
folk element can be heard at several points
in the work but none so clearly as at 6’43"
where an earthy, stamping, peasant like dance
reminiscent of Bartók takes hold,
eventually transforming itself
into a passage of rushing dissonant semi-quavers
in rhythmic unison, the harmony becoming progressively
tougher and a clear reminder of the composer’s
avant-garde roots. The work closes in a wild
folk dance induced riot, the music becoming
ever more multi-layered and out of control
before a long, slow brass crescendo brings
the party to a very abrupt halt.
Angelus shows a very
different side of Kilar’s musical nature,
forming a setting of the Ave Maria text on
a grand scale. The work opens with mysterious
spoken recitations alternating between male
and female voices, gradually building over
three and a half minutes until the orchestra
joins in a huge climax, the choir shouting
the name of Jesus repeatedly.
The music subsides into a
rapt oration for solo soprano over strings
and chorus (again echoes of Górecki
here), movingly beautiful in its simplicity.
The accompanying textures grow richer until
a further climax is reached following which
the solo soprano returns, this time supported
by the chorus over a slowly treading orchestral
accompaniment that ultimately brings the work
to a peaceful and satisfying resolution.
In his booklet note Richard
Whitehouse describes Exodus as Kilar’s
Boléro and it is not difficult
to hear why. Strikingly imaginative in its
use of orchestral resources the entire work
revolves around the haunting clarinet melody
heard at the outset, like the Ravel, generating
a huge, slow crescendo and subjecting the
theme to a multitude of instrumental transformations
whilst never deviating from its original melodic
form. It is not until late in the work after
a brass led, martial like climax that there
is a change in the momentum, the choir entering
with rapid biblical exclamations before the
word Domine is repeated with increasing
intensity, over the top of which trumpets
reintroduce the original theme. The choir
then take up the theme and drive the work
to a triumphant conclusion.
At a little over three and
a half minutes Victoria is by far the
briefest work on the disc, being in many ways
a condensation of the process used in Exodus
and very recognisably the work of the same
composer. Opening with a bold orchestral gesture
the choir enter with martial like precision,
as Richard Whitehouse points out not unlike
Orff, but perhaps more tellingly initially
reminiscent of a Jerry Goldsmith film score.
The mood soon changes to one of celebration
and this highly attractive little ode concludes
resolutely and emphatically.
There may not be the greatest
degree of originality in Kilar’s music but
without exception these works are attractive,
colourful, accessible and, as you would expect
for a composer with a track record in film
music, scored with impressive variety and
skill. Anyone with a liking for the later
works of Górecki, Kancheli or maybe
even Arvo Pärt, will find much to enjoy
and at super budget price I can well recommend
taking a chance Kilar’s music. The recordings
are vividly recorded and the performances
by all Polish forces get to the heart of the
music’s spirit.
Christopher Thomas.
Hasmik Papian-Soprano