Polish composer Henryk Górecki's “Symphony No. 3,” which consists of three slow movements featuring soprano solos on the subject of loss (a 15th-century Polish lament, a message written on the wall of a Gestapo cell during WWII, and a Silesian folk song of a mother searching for a son killed in an uprising), was composed in 1976 but remained little known until 1992, when a recording by soprano Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta under David Zinman became a surprise international hit. Filmmaker Tony Palmer's The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, originally broadcast on British television in 1993, features a performance of “Symphony No. 3” by the same artists, but overlays the music with excerpts from interviews of Górecki (who talks about the background to the composition), as well as archival footage of Nazi death camps, new footage of Górecki at Auschwitz and Birkenau, and shots of victims of war and famine (many children) in the Balkans and Africa. Palmer obviously intended to expand upon the symphony by adding verbal and visual commentary, but his efforts also distract from one's ability to appreciate Górecki's work on its own terms, so while this is a powerful film in many respects, some will feel that it diminishes the very symphony it aims to honor. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
(2007) 53 min. DVD: $28.98. Isolde Films (avail. from most distributors). Volume 23, Issue 6
The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: