Music: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs

By Henryk Gorecki. This very beautiful music starts with a low rumbling of bass fiddles that builds slowly into repeating ponderous interweaving themes like a procession walking by. The music translates the dark place that is Auschwitz. One part of the symphony depicts the prayer for mercy of a young woman, written on her cell wall in 1944. There are no frills or verbosity in the solo soprano pieces, just the simplicity of grief. The creation of this moving piece feels like a stand against all cruelty.