''Canticum Canticorum Salomonis'' is a choral composition by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. It was finished in 1973.

Composition

The composition was commissioned by the

Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ( pt, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of ...

and took Penderecki from 1970 to 1973 to finish it. It was premiered in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

on June 5, 1973.

Werner Andreas Albert Werner Andreas Albert (10 January 1935 – 10 November 2019) was a German-born Australian conductor. Personal life Albert was born in Weinheim. He began his studies in musicology and history, and later studied conducting with Herbert von Karaj ...

conducted the

Gulbenkian Orchestra The Gulbenkian Orchestra ( pt, Orquestra Gulbenkian) is a Portuguese symphony orchestra based in Lisbon. The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the ''Grande Auditório'' (Grand Auditorium) of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The orchestra, which was f ...

and

Les Percussions de Strasbourg Les Percussions de Strasbourg is a contemporary classical music percussion ensemble made up of six percussionists. Founded in 1962, the ensemble is still performing and commissioning music. The current lineup has played together for 15 years. Thei ...

, together with the NCRV Vocal Ensemble, which considered the composition too difficult to be performed. It is dedicated to Emil Breisach and was published by the

Polish Music Publishing House The PWM Edition ( pl, 'Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne', abbreviated as PWM) is a music publishing house based in Kraków, Poland. It was founded in 1945 and was the only music publisher in Poland for several years. In 2012 it released the twelfth vo ...

and

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were fou ...

Analysis

The composition, which is in one movement, takes approximately 16 minutes to perform, and uses an erotic text which is extracted from the Song of Songs. It is scored for a 16-voice

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

Text

Following is the complete text used in the composition:

Reception

The composition received mixed opinions by critics. Opinions from Polish critics ranged from "one of the best of Penderecki's works", by Malinowski and Michałowski, and "colorful, subtle, elegant, and expressively discreet", by Zielinski, to remarks by Kaczynzki, who deplored the low dynamism of the composition and stated that the composition "deserved a warmer welcome, despite the incoherence of its texts". Polish critic Marian Fuks described the musical style of the work as "lukewarm".

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Krzysztof Penderecki 1973 compositions Choral compositions