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Penderecki: Symphony No. 7 'Seven Gates of Jerusalem'

Krzysztof Penderecki (Composer), Antoni Wit (Conductor), Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Format: Audio CD
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 22 ratings
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Track Listings

1 Magnus Dominus Et Laudabilis Nimis
2 Si Oblitus Fuero Tui, Jerusalem
3 De Profundis
4 Si Oblitus Fuero Tui, Jerusalem
5 Lauda Jerusalem
6 Facta Es Super Me Manus Domini
7 Haec Dicit Dominus

Editorial Reviews

Jerusalem has special significance for Penderecki, who first visited it in 1974, following the 'Yom Kippur' war. He was commissioned then to write a work for the third millennium celebration of the city of David.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.87 x 5.63 x 0.39 inches; 3.03 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Naxos
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2006
  • SPARS Code ‏ : ‎ DDD
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ January 31, 2007
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Naxos
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000I2IUTS
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 22 ratings

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
22 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

R. Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars Penderecki at his best. (How could he not be
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2014
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As moving as it is relevant. Penderecki at his best. (How could he not be, after being selected--think about it--to write the featured music at the 3000th anniversary (yes, the three THOUSANDTH anniversary) of the founding of Jerusalem.
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robin friedman
5.0 out of 5 stars Penderecki's Symphony to Jerusalem
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2008
The Polish composer Krzystof Penderecki (b. 1933) initially gained fame as a composer of avant garde, atonal, and difficult music. In common with many other composers, such as the American George Rochberg, his style changed over the years from modernism to a more traditional, late romantic style. A devout Catholic, Penderecki has composed many works with religious themes.

Penderecki's Symphony no. 7, "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" is a large-scale romantic composition of immediate appeal. It is a powerful religious work of over an hour's duration scored for orchestra, five singers, a narrator, and chorus. It is beautifully rendered on this budget-priced Naxos CD by the Warsaw National Phiharmonic Orchestra conducted by Antoni Wit. Wit is in the process of recording Penderecki's symphonies and orchestral compositions for Naxos.

Penderecki composed this symphony in 1996 to celebrate the third millenium of Jerusalem and it was premiered in that city in 1997. Initially conceived as an oratorio, Penderecki subsequently decided to call the work a symphony. Chorus and soloists predominate from beginning to end. The work is in seven movements, each of which sets texts from the Psalms and Prophets that describe Jerusalem. The movement is in turns broad and powerful and quiet and intimate with large orchestral and choral passages alternating with passages for the soloists and for small ensembles. The movements likewise differ widely in scope with three lengthy movements, the first, fifth and seventh, interspersed with four shorter and generally quieter movements. Many of the themes of the work and the repetition of notes make use of the number 7 -- for the gates of Jerusalem (an eighth gate is said to wait until the time of the Messiah).

The work opens with a majestic setting of Psalm 47's "Great is the Lord and highly to be praised/ in the city of God on our holy mountain." There
is a middle section for the soloists after which the opening material returns in force. The second movement is a short meditation for soloists on the text "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be given to oblivion." (Psalm 136) This text returns as well in the fourth movement. The third movement is unique in that it is in an unaccompanied, chant-like style setting the text "Out of the depths I have called to you Lord/Lord, hear my voice"from Psalm 129. The lengthy fifth movement is a song of praise with percussion, brass, and bells with alternating powerful and reflective sections setting texts from Psalms and several Prophets. The Sixth movement features a speaker reciting in Hebrew verses from Ezekiel to the accompaniment of solemn brass. The finale has the character of an enormous summation, beginning with a setting of Jerimiah's "Thus saith the Lord/Lo I give you the way of Life and the way of Death." This is intense music that works to a large climactic conclusion.

The highlights of this work are the magnificent opening phrase for brass and chorus, the intimate, archaic third movement, and especially the recital passages of Boris Carmeli in the climactic sixth movement. The effect of this entire work, on initial hearing, is overwhelming and visceral.

Those expecting highly modern, difficult music will not find it in this symphony. Instead, this is modern music of great immediacy and passion in the language of religious devotion. The texts are not included in the liner notes, but they are available on the Naxos website.

Robin Friedman
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essmac
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you, Naxos
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2013
I can't add to the comments here already, I just wanted to add another 5-star review in hopes that more positive reviews will lead to more people experiencing this excellent performance of an amazing, criminally unknown work.
Leave all preconceived ideas about Penderecki, this is not the scary music you might have heard on The Shining soundtrack (wonderful as that is), nor is it the wrenching Threnody that is almost too emotionally painful to bear.
In the Symphony 7, Penderecki achieves accessibility without selling out. It's still challenging, but not bloodlessly academic-- it has real emotional power, consistently holds the attention, merits multiple hearings from both intellectual and purely visceral levels.
This is surely one of those pieces you hear and think, "Why have I not heard this before? Why isn't this performed all the time?" The performers probably would tell you that the difficulty level has a lot to do with it-- top shelf musicianship and extremely disciplined focus is required of all. Wit and his forces are outstanding, orchestra, soloists, chorus down to the last person. Home run for all involved.
I probably will be obsessed with this for a while, and won't stop until I own all of Wit's recordings of Penderecki on Naxos. Once again, we owe Naxos our thanks for bringing us affordable recordings of ignored works.
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Monocled gentleman
4.0 out of 5 stars Great first movement - comparison of versions
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2015
Penderecki seems like a rather uneven composer. I find many of his compositions rather uninspired and workmanlike, but he can also be pretty good. I wanted to review this product because the first movement has become one of my favorite pieces. The following comments will be about the first movement.

There are three recordings available. The first one with Kord as conducter has the best balance in the sections where there are solo singers, though not perfect. I tend to prefer that recording because of its balance, and I also think the tenor does a great job.

The newest recording with Penderecki himself as conductor has its merits, and has better balanced soloists than Wit. The tempo, a little slower than Wit and a lot slower than Kord, seems ideal and at times superbly phrased, and he brings out a long, held brass note in the beginning that you don't hear well in the other versions. The brass in that section generally has more punch, which you may or may not prefer. The choir can be a little underwhelming in terms of volume.

The version by Wit on Naxos - this version - has the most stunning climax near the end (the recap of the material near the beginning), with the counterpoint in one of the passages being significantly clearer than in the other versions. This recording is worth hearing for that passage alone. It is amazing. Wit's singers also seem to use vibrato more judiciously, though none of the versions are exactly bad.

If you're as much a fan of the first movement as I am, you'll probably want all of the versions. However, there is room for improvement in all of them; hopefully there will be new attempts in the future.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Jean-Louis Bigotte
5.0 out of 5 stars L'apogée de la production symphonique de Penderecki
Reviewed in France on November 25, 2023
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Sans doute l'apogée de l'oeuvre symphonique de Penderecki, en puissance, qualité orchestrale et durée (une heure), la symphonie n°7 a été composée pour fêter le 3ème millénaire de Jérusalem. Elle est en 7 mouvements, comme les 7 portes de la ville.
La prise de sons est superbe mais dommage que le label Naxos ne daigne plus proposer une traduction de texte en français !
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Simon B
5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply Satisfying Symphony from Penderecki
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2006
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I remember being almost overwhelmed by Penderecki's St Luke Passion in a performance at the Proms back in the 1980s. A combination of the sheer intensity of sound, the inventiveness of the musical idioms created, and the sheer number of performers on stage added up to a superb musical and theatrical experience. It was impossible top doubt, despite the stark nature of the musical language and the eastern Bloc origins of the composer that this was a deeply felt piece.

Penderecki's `The Seven Gates of Jerusalem' continues the musical development of its composer and retains the same fervour of the earlier work. Nowadays the retreat of the avant garde has allowed music to become melodically fecund once again, and this is reflected in a more tuneful version of Penderecki's earlier style, however he has not sacrificed complexity or imagination in the process.

This hour long work started out as a commission celebrating the third millennium of Jerusalem. As a large-scale oratorio for soloists, choir and orchestra it was given its premier in Jerusalem in 1997. The composer decided to call the piece his Seventh Symphony after its first performance (and before a sixth symphony had been completed!) but it is clear from the way the work is organised that it is symphonic in conception and scope.

The symphony is a significant addition to the repertoire: Penderecki marshals his forces with complete mastery. Whereas his earlier choral works might seem to be exploring tonal effect merely for its own sake, this work does not waste a single utterance.

The composer sets biblical texts in both Latin and Hebrew which highlight the almost organic union between the city of Jerusalem and its people, especially in the proclamation of religious faith. It is unfortunate that the CD does not include the texts and their translations; however these are downloadable as a PDF file from the Naxos website.

Although in seven sections, the symphony can be heard as a traditional four movement piece, including a `slow movement' with a declaimed Hebrew narrative from Ezekiel.

Clearly the symphony is deeply felt from a religious perspective, but don't let that put you off. If religion leaves you cold the symphony works fantastically well on a purely musical level.

There is no weak link amongst the soloists, the choral forces have clear diction and dynamic control. The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, including a lithe percussion section (listen out for the tubulum in the earlier movements!) play superbly under the direction of Antoni Wit.
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J. McDonald 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
5.0 out of 5 stars Penderecki - Symphony No 7, 'Seven Gates of Jerusalem'.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2022
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Serious and weighty, this is a choral symphony in contrast to the composer's earlier symphonic works; scored for voices – two sopranos, a mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass and a narrator, chorus and orchestra, Penderecki isn't messing around; originally conceived as an oratorio, most of the texts are in Latin with the narrated passage in Hebrew and are mostly taken from the Psalms; no texts are provided with this release from Naxos, but they can be downloaded on the company website.
As one would expect, it's a sombre piece, romantically melodic in places, but it's religious character is dominating, and harks back to the traditions of such musical works of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Powerful and absorbing music; soloist and the forces of the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir are under the direction of Antoni Wit, who is the conductor throughout this Naxos series of discs presenting Penderecki`s works.
The CD has a playing time of 60.47 minutes.
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Charlot
5.0 out of 5 stars Mérite 6 étoiles
Reviewed in France on August 7, 2013
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Attention, gros risque d'addiction. Depuis que j'ai reçu ce CD, je dois l'écouter au moins trois fois par semaine, je suis accro je l'avoue. De toutes ses symphonies, celle-ci est à mon goût la plus réussie. Aucun reproche à faire à l'interprétation et la prise de son, pour moi, tout est parfait
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Mr. Julian Eisner
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2013
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Sorry about the trite-sounding adjective! With respect to the first movement especially, the epithet is accurate. I love this piece. Good performance and recording. An outstanding bargain for Penderecki fans. All of the Naxos Penderecki discs appear to be worth exploring. I have a few and have been delighted with them all.
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