A real monument was made by Krzysztof Penderecki for Jerusalem on the 3000th anniversary of its foundation. For this occasion, he composed his seventh symphony "Seven gates of Jerusalem". The work performed by the Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the combined forces of three choirs and the best soloists will be heard on December 14th in the Golden Hall of the Philharmonic. The orchestra will be conducted by Maestro Penderecki himself.
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The premiere of the 7th Symphony "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" took place on January 9th, 1997 in Jerusalem, and a huge international cast took part in it: choirs from Munich, Stuttgart and Leipzig as well as the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lorin Maazel.
The 70th anniversary of the proclamation of independence is celebrated this year by the city to which the work is dedicated, while the Szczecin Orchestra is celebrating the round jubilee this year as well. At the same time, 2018 is the year in which the entire musical world pays homage to maestro Krzysztof Penderecki, who celebrates his 85th birthday. The performance of the Symphony "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" at the Philharmonic in Szczecin will have a solemn, jubilee character.
The composition, originally written as a genre of symphonies, has grown to monumental proportions, engaging a gigantic executive apparatus that we will see on the stage of the Symphony Hall of the Philharmonic in Szczecin on December 14th at 19:00. The Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, with an extended section of percussion, will be accompanied by three choirs, soloists and a reciter. The concert will be conducted by the composer himself, maestro Krzysztof Penderecki.
In addition to the number of performers, the very form of the work is also powerful – the seven legendary city gates correspond to seven parts of the work, in which the composer used texts taken from the Old Testament. The fact that the verbal layer of the work is significant for the composer can be seen in his recommendation that the text spoken by the reciter should always be in a language that the listener understands.
The composition is an example of the implementation of the idea of "great synthesis", in which the artist refers to universal values and combines the musical tradition of different eras with modern means of expression. Thus, in the symphony, there are explicit references to the legacy of great creators of religious, vocal and instrumental forms, the genre of the chorale, a cappella and polichorality. Tubaphones constitute a novum in this nearly hour-long composition. They are instruments built of long pipes according to the design of Penderecki himself. The spatial arrangement of musicians also influences the extraordinary reception of the work.
Penderecki | 7 gates of Jerusalem this Friday, December 14th at 19:00.