Krzysztof Penderecki “Symphony #7: ‘The Gates of Jerusalem’” [Wergo]

A new face to KP’s music is added to KFJC’s library here – and a very welcome one. MASSIVE vocal and orchestral forces combine in a typically Polish postwar lyrical idiom (see also Lutoslawski & especially Gorecki for contemporaries). It’s in 7 movements. See the excellent liner notes (you go, Wergo!) for details. The dramatic climax is in part V, but remarkable aural thrills follow through to the end.

Desperate but not frantic.

-Cujo, KFJC, October 2006