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Lucrare apărută cu sprijinul financiar

al Consiliului Județean Timiș
prin Centrul de Cultură şi Artă al judeţului Timiş

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 BOARD REVART

CONSILIUL ȘTIINTIFIC
Director editorial – Conf. univ. dr. Veronica Laura DEMENESCU
Societatea Internationala de Studii Muzicale, Presedinte

COLEGIUL DE REDACŢIE
Redactor şef: Prof. univ. dr. Carmen STOIANOV
Uniunea Compozitorilor și Muzicologilor din România
Secretar general de redacţie: Mircea DEMENESCU
Societatea Internationala de Studii Muzicale

MEMBRI:
Dr. Phil. Mauro Fosco BERTOLA
Ruprecht – Carls – Universität Heidelberg – Institutul de Muzicologie
Prof. int. dr. – Maestru în Arta Tatiana BEREZOVICOVA
Academia de Muzica, Teatru si Arte plastice, Chisinau, Republica Moldova
Prof. univ. dr. Marcel BUNEA
Universitatea Naţională de Arte Bucureşti
Prof. univ. dr. Daniela CHIOREAN
Facultatea de Artă Plastică – Universitatea de Artă şi Design din Cluj-Napoca
Prof. univ. dr. Daniela CONSTANTIN
Universitatea de Vest din Timişoara
Doctor of Arts (Dr.hab.) Iurii CHEKAN
Member of the National Society of Composers of Ukraine,
Professor of the National Music Academy of Ukraine
Prof. univ. dr. habil. Petruta COROIU
Universitatea Transilania din Brasov
Prof. univ. dr. Valentina SANDU-DEDIU
Universitatea Naţională de Muzică din Bucureşti,
Rector al Institutului de Studii Avansate New Europe College, Bucuresti
Prof. univ. dr. Stela DRAGULIN
Decan, Facultatea de Muzică – Universitatea Transilvania din Braşov
Prof. univ. dr. Ruxandra DEMETRESCU
Director Şcoala Doctorală, Universitatea Naţională de Arte Bucureşti
Prof. univ. dr. Gheorghe DUŢICĂ
Universitatea de Arte George Enescu din Iaşi
Prof. univ. dr. Nice FRACILE
Academia de Muzică a Universităţii din Novi Sad
Conf. int. – Artist al Poporului Iurie MATEI
Academia de Muzica, Teatru si Arte plastice, Chisinau, Republica Moldova

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 Prof. univ. dr. habil. Victoria MELNIC
Rector, AMTAP – Chişinău
Prof. univ. dr. Nelida NEDELCUŢ
Prorector – Academia de Muzică Gheorghe Dima din Cluj-Napoca
Prof. univ. dr. Atena Elena SIMIONESCU
Rector, Universitatea de Arte George Enescu din Iaşi
Prof. univ. dr. Radu PULBERE
Universitatea de Artă şi Design din Cluj-Napoca
Prof. univ. dr. Antigona RĂDULESCU
Universitatea Naţională de Muzică din Bucureşti
Prof. Univ. Dr. Gesine SCHRÖDER
President of the GMTH – University for Music and performing Arts Vienna
Prof. univ. dr. – Maestru în Arta Irina CIOBANU SUHOMLIN
Academia de Muzica, Teatru si Arte plastice, Chisinau, Republica Moldova
Prof. univ. dr. Laura Otilia VASILIU
Universitatea de Arte George Enescu din Iaşi
Conf. univ. dr. Sanda HÎRLAV-MAISTOROVICI
Universitatea Valahia din Târgoviște
Dr. Liliana Isabela APOSTU
Universitatea din Nice; Institut fur Musik Oldenburg
Dr. Haiganuş PREDA-SCHIMEK
Cercetător asociat la Institutul de Istoria Muzicii din cadrul
Universităţii de Muzică şi Arte Dramatice din Viena, Austria
Prof. Dr. Konstantin Vladimirovich ZENKIN
Vice Rector of the Moscow P.I.Tchaikovsky Conservatory
Nadezhda Grigorievna ZENKINA
Head of the Music Theory Department of Moscow Gnessin High Special School

R e d a c ţi a
Timişoara, Bd. Revoluţiei din 1989 nr. 26, Tel./fax: 0256-204816
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Revart tipărit ISSN 1841 – 1169 ▪ ISSN-L 1841 – 1169

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33 – 2019
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 CUPRINS

MUZICĂ ŞI MUZICOLOGIE

STYLISTIC COORDINATES OF BEETHOVEN’S LANGUAGE

Mihaela ITIGAN, Stela DRĂGULIN ▪ pag. 9

FEATURES OF THE COMPOSITIONAL LANGUAGE

IN HENRYK GÓRECKI’S MISERERE
Alexandra BELIBOU, Petruta Maria COROIU ▪ pag. 20

INTRODUCERE ÎN STUDIUL ESTETIC AL MUZICII BIZANTINE.

CÂTEVA REPERE BIBLIOGRAFICE
Ion - Alexandru ARDEREANU ▪ pag. 29

MUZICA BISERICEASCĂ ORTODOXA DIN BANAT PRIVITĂ

DIN PERSPECTIVA OSMOZEI CULTURALE BALCANICE
Veronica – Laura DEMENESCU, Ion – Alexandru ARDEREANU,
Adrian – Călin BOBA ▪ pag. 36

SCURTĂ PRIVIRE ASUPRA TRASEULUI PARCURS

DE MUZICA ROMÂNEASCĂ DE LA ÎNCEPUTUL SECOLULUI XX
- muzica dedicată corului de copii – partea a II-a
Ingrid NICOLAESCU ▪ pag. 47

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 FEATURES OF THE COMPOSITIONAL LANGUAGE
IN HENRYK GÓRECKI’S MISERERE

Alexandra BELIBOU
Transilvania University Brasov, Romania

Petruta Maria COROIU

Transilvania University Brasov, Romania

Introduction
The modern Polish musical culture is one of the most valuable in the
whole European context, promoting personalities with a firm, deep,
impressive message, perfectly contextualized to the political and social
difficulties of the time. It was born as a musical modern culture in the 1960s
(immediately after the major political crisis of 1956, in which the famous
'Warsaw Autumn' festival of contemporary music was inaugurated). The
festival brought to light all the trends of modern Polish music, from aspects of
Dodecafonism to that specific Polish tone of sound. Among the most
representative composers we mention Witold Lutosławski and Krzysztof
Penderecki, Henryk Górecki, K. Serocki, T. Baird, W. Kilar, W. Szalonek, B.
Schaeffer and W. Kotoński.
Henryk Górecki’s (1933 - 2010) creation holds a unique place in the
pantheon of Western music. This Polish composer became suddenly famous
in the last decade of the 20th century, and his compositions represent an
important part in the repertoire of cult music. Regardless of the evolution of
his style, Górecki established himself as a powerful and distinct musical
presenceby emphasizing the variety of compositional means of expression.
As Poland opened towards Western influences, Górecki rapidly
assimilated the serial aesthetic, as well as other modern creation techniques,
which are reflected in his compositions written in the 70s, when the musician

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was one of the radical modernists.This stage in his creation includes: Symphony
1 (1959), Genesis (1962). The extremes of his musical temperament were
revealed by the wild neoclassicism of Sonata for two violins (1957), which is
rich in dynamic and rhythmic contrasts, showing a taste for the grotesque.
The period 1970-1986 was dominated by compositions for a big
orchestra, masterfully combined with vocal passages, through which the
composer tried to humanize the explorations of the 60s. Symphony 2
(Copernican, 1972) and Symphony 3 (Symfonia pieśni żałosnych, 1976)
crystalize the evolution tendency inHenryk Górecki’s language, this stylistic
transition is a representative example of the spiritual rebirth of Poland. A
positive move towards spirituality may be seen in the works of Polish artists
of the time, and in music, as the sonorous experiments of the previous decade
followed their course, the uncommon became common, and the aesthetic
previously rejected became attractive again. During the post-1968 period, the
forbidden musical means, such as consonance, the interval of third and lyrical
beauty, became tempting again. The new phenomena emerged in the music of
many composers: a new simplicity, a new brand of Romanticism and,
eventually, Postmodernism. Countless creators were tempted to return to
naturalness, spiritualism (Cary, 2005, p.43). This evolution of the
compositional language led to the formation of a minimalist grammar in
Henryk Górecki’s creation, with special focus on spirituality. This influenced
the critics’ decision to place the composer in the same artistic movement as
Arvo Pärt: holy minimalism (Botha, 2017, p. 17).

Discussion
The social and political changes in Poland in the 1980s offered much
more freedom to explore spirituality through art. Górecki wanted to reflect
his catholic belief in minimalist sonorous creations. His effort to incorporate
more folklore materials and religious texts in his musical creation is a
conscious attempt to speak directly to the Polish people. Górecki’s music
expresses his will to communicate in a Polish voice – dealing with Poland’s
problems, rising with dignity above the difficulties of a dark past. (Garbowski,
2014, p. 140)
Considering this, his work Miserere (1981), opus 44, which is the
focus of this paper, must be examined in the context leading to its creation. Its
meaning can be interpreted correctly when the work is seen as a response to

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Poland’s political and religious history during Górecki’s life, and as a result of
the composer’s personal convictions. Miserere is a manifesto through which
its creator gave an important voice to the non-communist majority in Poland,
as a reaction to the oppressive measures taken by the Communist Party (the
creation was censored until 1987). Also, the religious text which makes
reference to the composer’s spiritual nature symbolizes the support of the
church, so intensely persecuted during Górecki’s life (Cooper, 2012, p. 17).
Cooper believes that Miserere is the expression of a life under political and
religious repression. Moreover, this creation represents an answer to a
specific incident in Poland’s history – the work based on psalms marks the
altercation between Rural Solidarity and the soviet police in March 1981,
from Bydgoszcz. In addition to this social and political direction, the creator
also refers to centuries of liturgical tradition by using a biblical text ideal for
meditation and for expressing personalas well as national suffering (Cooper,
2012, p.26).
The composers considers that the a cappella choral ensemble is the
most adequate to render in sound form the musical universe of Psalm 50. This
ensemble needs at least 120 voices, divided into 8 vocal groups (SSAATTBB).
Miserere includes 11 sections, totalling 35 minutes (according to the
composer’s indications) (Thomas, 2002, p. 103). The parts were structured to
increase in dramatic intensity by adding progressively voices to the choir in
the musical discourse, thus it sketches an ascending melodic and textual
profile, as a symbol of prayer which is raised to the sky. The originality of the
composition is ensured by the management of the sonorous space in relation
to the text, thus the first 10 sections develop musically the words Domine Deus
noster, while the last section brings the much awaited words MISERERE
NOBIS (written in capital letters in the musical score). After a sonorous
journey in search of God, after the voice is gradually raised to the sky, the
mercy prayer is a wise conclusion.
The score of the psalm Miserere by Henryk Górecki starts discretely,
the first part of the creation was based on a monody intoned by the bass group
2, in a modal sonorous Aeolic (on A), with reference to Gregorian music –
exploring the catholic musical traditions. The economy of the musical means
which determine us to classify this creation in the Minimalist current is
reflected in the melodic line – in the presence of fragments of gradual
evolution, reduced ambitus and cellular repetition, in the equal rhythm which
presents spondee formulae, the permanent piano dynamics with the

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indications Lento – Blagalnie (begging), in the absence of modulatory
tendencies in the melodic line. Thus, we notice on the first page of the score
under discussion a meditative atmosphere, which deepens because of the
symmetrical repetition of each melodic phrase which processes the same
suggestive words: Domine Deus noster. By insisting on doubling the musical
phrases, without dynamic and/or agogic contrast, the composer shows a non-
evolutionary intention, which invites introspection.

Fig. 1. The first notes in Miserere

The absence of indications concerning the metrics of the score signals

the desire for freedom in processing the text, in the Neumatic style.
Characterised by the presence of “small conglomerates of two to ten sounds
which can accompany a syllable” (Emerson, online), the Neumatic style of the
Gregorian music, whose principles are integrated in Henryk Górecki’s
composition of the 20th century, is present in all of the 10 sections of the psalm
built around the words Domine Deus noster. For the final part, the words
Miserere nobisare displayed in a syllabic choral composition. Another
principle which we find in Gregorian music is observed in the choral music of
Miserere –the diapason of each voice is reduced in duration (it does not
exceed the interval of a perfect eighth).
The musicologist Adrian Thomas, a researcher devoted to Górecki’s
art, calls the 11 sections of Miserere - paragraphs(Thomas, 2002, p. 103). We
will also be using this name in our analysis. The second paragraph involves a
melody which is mostly parallel with the two groups of basses, subject to the
same writing principles – repetition of musical phrases, melodic line based on
gradual increase, non-modulating intention, exclusively equal rhythm,
Neumatic behaviour. The dynamic and agogic indications written down by the
composer are maintained throughout the musical pages, the only element
which indicates an increase in the tension of the expression is the gradual
range of vocal parts. Although the entire sonorous architecture, put forth by
the creator, the safeguard sensation of the minimal language elements is

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present, the hermeneutic meanings of the score are not comfortable or
simple, on the contrary, they involve an intense concentration which reminds
us of the words: “Do not seek silence by talking; this is the way to drive it away.
A useless chase after an illusion.” (Siladi, online). The third paragraph also
involves the second tenor voice, in addition to the two groups of basses, the
ascending range of choir voices has a symbolic ascending meaning. The
writing features mentioned in the above analysis are maintained in this
section as well; only in the fourth paragraph we encounter small changes in
the compositional approach. All of the four masculine voices are invited to a
common prayer, this time the section builds an ascending tension, which is
based on the rhythmic and dynamic contrast. The dynamic indications sketch
a diversity of voice colours, from piano nuances to forte nuances, gradually
approached. From the point of view of the rhythm, the composer suggests a
heteronimy of pairs of voices at the moment of maximum tension, the two
groups of tenors specifying an unequal undertaking, based on highlighted
value, ranging over the common rhythm of the spondee value in the score for
low voices.
The following paragraphs (five, six and seven) invite the feminine
voices in the choral pattern. We notice the fact that every new occurrence
brings about an apparently independent melodic line, so that the feminine
voices overlap with the regular Neumatic writing for the masculine voices,
with small rhythm and melody exceptions. Also, we see the composer’s desire
to maintain rigorously a rule concerning the harmonic range at the beginning
of the paragraphs: an additional voice completes the discourse at the third
interval, displaying an ascending arpeggio of overlapping thirds, from the
initial opening in A and up to the addition of the last voice in the choral
ensemble – A, C, E, G, B, D, F, A. The strategic development of the musical and
dramatic tension anticipates the presentation of the request in the last part,
and the harmonic tension proposed by the composer is solved only in the final
movement of the score.
The eighth section brings a new sonorous universe through a monodic
writing with accompaniment. Thus, by reducing the choral ensemble to a
combination of four voices, the composer proposes for the high feminine
voices a melody with a narrow ambitus which is dominated by gradual
increase, and the motif repetition generates the content of the sonorous
pages. The other voices of the choir are in charge of the accompaniment. The
change of paradigm concerning the compositional pattern is highlighted by

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moving the gravity centre on E, thus highlighting a modal musical section – in
a frigic sonorous system (orhypofrigic – after the diapason defined by the
melismatic voice). We believe that this short insertion reaffirms the sources
of inspiration of the work and redefines its modal support.

Fig. 2. The first measures in paragraph 8

The dynamic explosion at the beginning of paragraph nine cancels the

atmosphere proposed by the previous section, while the composer reaffirms
the gravitational centre A through its harmony. Górecki’s homophonic writing
is repeated, this time on eight voices, for about three eighths, with sonorous
textures in ff nuances. The tension suggested up to this moment through the
harmony structures formed by overlaps of thirds, by the obsessive repetition
of the words Domine Deus noster and the doubling of musical phrases, as well
as the progressive increase in tension transposed on music by gradually
including the choir voices in the score, is expressed openly at this moment.
We are no longer talking about a bitter meditation, but about explicitly
formulated despair. Despite these realities, Górecki does not betray his
principles of minimalist writing, which imposes a wilful economy of
compositional means.
The penultimate paragraph sums up the entire compositional
approach so far, suggesting an expansion of the dramatic tension in an
intensive way, which claims a solution from a musical and a spiritual point of
view. The choral ensemble is divided into 10 vocal parts, while the sonorous
material processed through repetition is based on the harmony resulting
from the overlapping of thirds. The composer amplifies to exacerbation the

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despair in prayer through the melody of external voices – soprano and bass,
which intone a vocal line undulating on the horizontal line, in a drawing, over
a pseudo-pedal based on harmonies for all the other voices, by repetitions of
different dynamic phrases – frommptofff and by the reduction of rhythm. The
undulating-figurative discourse of extreme voices emphasizes paradigms
synonymous with the orientation of the structural verticality (translated in
stability) towards the melodic horizontal (translated in mobility), in an
apparent contradiction. This fact causes an increase in expressivity.

Fig. 3. The musical section which will be repeated during paragraph 10,
indicating a melodic undulating-figurative profile for extreme voices

The end of Miserere highlights the eleventh paragraph, which is built

around the words MISERERE NOBIS (noted in this way in the score). The final
movement is described by the words - "calm meditative post-penitential"
(Moody, 1992, p. 283).The progressive tension of the composition,
culminating in the extreme agitation of the tenth movement, represents an
emotional catharsis, while the final paragraph brings musical and spiritual
closure, after a long wait. The concluding section is the only one for which the
composer specified no metronomic marking. The agogic indication is mostly
expressive: Lento- tranquilissimo, cantabilissimo, dolcissimo – Błagalnie –and
suggests a prolonged meditation in a suspended and timeless atmosphere.
The harmonic sequences are consonant, imposing an Aeolian rhythm, the

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equal rhythm entails equal values (half notes and full notes, as compared to
the first movements which entail an equal rhythm based on fourths) and
displays a syllabic behaviour, the dynamics does not exceed the area of piano
nuances, and the formal structure includes the repetition of phrases, as we
have been accustomed. The musical conclusion of Miserere is characterized
by enough musical and emotional gravity to compensate for the accumulation
of expressive tension over about half an hour. If in the previous paragraphs,
the compositional intention emphasized the vertical dimension of the melodic
vocal part, in this section the sonorous textures mark a vertical approach of
the discourse of the choir voices. This fact gives the music a strong unifying
nature; the choral ensemble is considered a sonorous whole, while the words
Miserere nobis point to the idea of homogeneity.

Fig. 4. The first measures of the last paragraph of Miserere

Conclusions
In 1994 the composer said: “All my life I've done what I've wanted and
I've always fought for what I wanted to fight for, and I will continue to fight for
those ideals. Some people take an automatic gun and shoot. I can only fight with
my notes on the page.” (Duffie, online). Henryk Górecki reveals himself as a
mediator for the Polish people with spiritual beliefs based on the traditions of
the Roman-Catholic Church. He placed himself, through his composition
Miserere, between a nation in troubled times and the rescuing God of its

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belief. He stood between the oppressive forces of communism and the
religious life of an entire nation. The analysed creation presents Górecki as a
spiritual mediator, criticising communist decisions and invoking God’s
benediction (Cooper, 2012, p. 52).
The score for Miserere,as a short text, can be seen as a distillation of
the original Miserere, reducing the text of the psalm to its dramatic and
spiritual essence, in a way which finds a precedent in the compositions of
Renaissance.

Bibliography
[1]. BOTHA, Marc. (2017). A Theory of Minimalism. London: Bloombury Academic.
[2]. COOPER, Grant. (2012). Composers as Spiritual Mediators: Henryk Górecki and
John Luther Adams. Waco: Graduate Faculty of Baylor University.
[3]. DUFFIE, Bruce. Composer Henryk - Mikolaj Górecki, http://www.bruceduffie.com/
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[4]. EMERSON, John. Plainchant [plainsong], http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/
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[6]. MOODY, Ivan. (1992). Górecki: the path to the Miserere în Musical Times, iunie. UK:
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