Henrick Gorecki - Symphony No 3, Op. 36, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs

Melodious Sorrow

In a previous post I referred to my liking for 'pretty' classical music. That is clearly an inadequate term, because applied here it is at stark odds with the content and mood of the music, though it is relevant in that the melodic line is beautiful even if pathetically so. By this I mean of course the pathos it generates, and the 'prettiness' is in the harmonious nature of the melody, whether orchestral or in the soprano voice that repeats it.

I have researched various interpretations of the content and as Gorecki himself has never definitively declared its meaning one has to rely on these. But that content of parent and sibling loss and most likely the second world war context add a melancholic base to the sound itself. It is beautifully moving.

I am no expert. Is the simple melodic line a key feature of 20th century classical music? Repetition and a stepping-up of tone and volume and maybe even pace seem to be other fundamental elements. Perhaps that is why I like so much two other extremely popular pieces, in this case both made familiar as scores in films: Samuel Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' and Ennio Morriconi's 'Once Upon a Time in America'. There are obviously significant differences between these, not least in their origins, but they share the simplicity of a singular strong melodic line and a repetition of that.

There is a pathos in all three of these. A line I like to often use is 'Happiness is painted white'. I can't find it in research being attributed to anyone in particular and I feel I have heard it from someone else but I am keen enough to take credit for its creation. The meaning is clear enough to me: in most art, the more dramatic or painful or haunted or surreal or anything that isn't simply happy and content, the more emotive it will necessarily be. White is bland. These three classical pieces walk then a tightrope on this rather inelegant attempt at definitions because on the one hand they too have their simple [though not bland] melodies, but on the other have the power to genuinely and dramatically and memorably move the listener.