Polish Requiem
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The Polish Requiem is a musical work written by Krzysztof Penderecki between 1980 and 1984, and revised in 1993.
In 1980, Penderecki was commissioned by Solidarity to compose a piece to accompany the unveiling of a statue at the Gdańsk shipyards to commemorate those killed at anti-government riots there in 1970. Penderecki responded with the Lacrimosa, which he later expanded into this requiem, writing other parts in honour of different patriotic events. It has become one of the best known works of his later period.
A first version of the requiem was played on 28 September 1984 by the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovitch. The definitive recording was made by the composer on 11 November 1993 in Stockholm.
The score is composed of sixteen movements and takes slightly more than 90 minutes to perform. It is written for four soloists, mixed choirs, and full orchestra. The text is in Latin, plus a traditional Polish hymn, Swiety Boze.
- Introitus
- Kyrie
- Dies irae
- Tuba mirum
- Mors stupedit
- Quid sum miser
- Rex tremendae
- Recordare Jesu pie
- Ingemisco tanquam reus
- Lacrimosa
- Sanctus
- Agnus Dei
- Lux aeterna
- Libera me, Domine
- Swiety Boze
- Libera animas
