A Requiem for Penderecki

On March 29th, the Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki, passed away. Most people would not recognize his name, but his music appeared in eerie Hollywood films such as The Exorcist and The Shining. Despite that connection, Penderecki produced many sacred works and even Catholic themed opera. Along with a few others, such as Arvo Pärt and his fellow Pole, Henryk Górecki, he was among a few contemporary composers engaging in sacred composition, drawing upon the classical tradition.

He masterpiece was a “Polish Requiem” that grew out of a commission from the Solidarity Movement to write a Lacrimosa for striking workers killed in Communist Poland in 1970. The full requiem, expanded to honor Poland and her suffering as a whole, appeared in 1984. You can certainly hear why his music was chosen for horror film in the piece, with intensity and even atonality that finds resolution in deeply moving and harmonious moments. It is modern and challenging, but also beautiful and inspiring.

In light of his recent death and also our meditation upon Christ’s death this Holy Week, it’s a good time to engage Penderecki’s Polish Requiem.

He also has another masterpiece, even more fitting for Holy Week, his St. Luke Passion:

Let’s pray for Penderecki’s repose as we listen to his music. Hopefully he will inspire more Catholic art that can speak with a modern idiom and remain beautiful.