Today I learned of the death of the great Polish composer, Henryk Gorecki, I am deeply saddened. Renowned as the composer of the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, he has produced a large number of profound pieces which have put sacred music back in the "Classical charts". He was one of the so-called Holy Minimalists, a composer affected by his Catholic faith, and inspired through his love of God, Our Lady and the Saints, to write some of the 20th and 21st centuries' greatest music. I am an avid fan of Gorecki, won over by the symphony, but charmed by many of his other pieces. Among them, I count his work for baritone, choir and orchestra, Beatus Vir as one of the finest modern pieces for baritone in the contemporary repertoire.
Henryk Gorecki was born in Poland, and lived there all his life, enduring, as did many others, the oppression of Communism, but yet never losing hope - his faith in the God who saves his people is apparent in his music, which, while reflecting the sorrow and suffering of the Polish people, also reveals the depths of hope a Christian people nurtured in the face of evil: a hope which was God-given. Gorecki was a personal friend of the Venerable Pope John Paul II, and he wrote a number of his works in honour of the pontiff. The two men shared the same experience and vision which strengthened them to lead their people, one through preaching the Gospel as priest, bishop and pope, the other through his art. Gorecki was what we in the Fraternity pray all artists will be: evangelisers, apostles. Gorecki can show us how one can be a devout Catholic and a great artist - the two are not incompatible - they are in fact two sides of the same coin. (Biography)
I will offer Mass for Gorecki, though I pray God will give him a great reward, for like St Thomas Aquinas did in philosophy and theology, Gorecki did through his music: he has spoken well of his Lord. Today is a sad day for Catholic culture, we have lost one of our greatest exponents and defenders. But I hope his work and faith will inspire others.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him,
may he rest in peace.
In memory of Gorecki, his hymn in honour of Our Lady, inspired by Pope John Paul II's papal motto, Totus Tuus:
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