Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of classical music at work. Though I’m an unrepentant fan of sports talk radio, I find that I when trying to solve a hard programming problem it’s easier not to have chatter about Barry Bond and Pacman Jones in the background. Today I’m listening to Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3. I’ve owned this CD for over ten years, but it’s been a while since I listened to it.
It’s a rather minimalist piece, but it’s brilliantly beautiful. What makes it stand out is the beautiful voice of the soprano, who sings a series of songs about the connection between a mother and her children. They’re wonderful on their own, but they take you to a new level when you realize that one of the songs is actually a prayer to the Virgin Mary that an 18 year old girl wrote to comfort her mother on the wall of a Gestapo cell in Poland, where they were both being held.
No. Mother, do not weep, Most chaste Queen of Heaven, Support me always. Zdrowas Mario
She later died in that cell.