W.Kilar: Magnificat, Victoria (6,8/2007) / Miroslaw Jacek Blaszczyk(cond), Silesian PO & Choir, Izabella Klosinska(S), Tomasz Krzysica(T), etc

Polish composer Wojciech Kilar is not as well known as several of his contemporaries and compatriots such as Penderecki and Gorecki, but his compositional path has taken a similar trajectory. He was trained as a modernist, with a stint at Darmstadt, but unlike them he always had a strong interest in folk traditions. Like them, he experienced an aesthetic conversion in the 1970s and abandoned the modernism of his youth. His music more closely resembles that of Gorecki in its radical simplicity and incorporation of certain minimalist tendencies in his slowly unfolding musical time. His music has more textural, harmonic, and expressive variety than Gorecki's, though. Kilar is a real original, and his artistic vision seems unbeholden to any school or tradition. His music has a level of constantly unfolding inventiveness and unpredictability that sets it apart from Gorecki's, which can rely heavily on repetition. Kilar's serenely joyous 50-minute Magnificat is a substantial and deeply expressive work that deserves to be better known. It has moments of starkly simple lyricism, such as the second movement, in which a soaring soprano line for the most part is accompanied by strings and harp in unison over a slowly shifting chordal drone. The composer can also unleash torrents of rhythmic and harmonic energy where the text calls for real force. His brief and propulsive anthem Victoria is quirkily martial sounding, but highly effective, ending in an astonishing but entirely appropriate choral shout of victory. The Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and Choir, led by Miroslaw Jacek Blaszczyk, perform with intensity and warmth. Among the soloists, soprano Izabella Klosinska stands out for the richness and lyrical purity of her performance. Dux's sound is warm, resonant, and present. The CD should be of interest to any fans of "holy minimalists;" Kilar's minimalism may not be as pure as theirs, but his eclecticism reveals an original and immensely appealing voice.