Sonorism (Polish: ''Sonoryzm'') is an approach to

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

associated with a number of notable Polish composers. The scholar

Józef Michał Chomiński Józef Michał Chomiński (24 August 1906 – 20 February 1994) was a Polish musicologist of Ukrainian origin. He studied composition and conducting at Lviv Conservatory and musicology at John Casimir University in Lviv under Adolf Chybiński. Fr ...

coined the term "sonoristics" (Polish: ''sonorystyka'') to describe the urge to explore purely sonic phenomena in composition, and from this term derived "sonorism" to describe an avant-garde style in Polish music of the 1960s that focused on

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...

. As a movement, sonorism was initiated in the 1950s in the avant-garde of

Polish music The Music of Poland covers diverse aspects of music and musical traditions which have originated, and are practiced in Poland. Artists from Poland include world-famous classical composers like Frédéric Chopin, Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutosł ...

. Music that emphasises sonorism as a compositional approach tends to focus on specific characteristics and qualities of timbre,

texture Texture may refer to: Science and technology * Surface texture, the texture means smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object * Texture (roads), road surface characteristics with waves shorter than road roughness * Texture (c ...

, articulation, dynamics, and motion in an attempt to create freer form. The style is primarily associated with an experimental musical movement which arose in Poland in the mid-1950s and flourished through the 1960s. Sonorism emphasizes discovering new types of sounds from traditional instruments, as well as the creation of textures by combining different, often unconventional instrumental sounds in unusual and unique ways. The term ''sonoristics'' is used to describe this novel approach, which went beyond merely injecting individual color, quirks, and experimentation. It aimed to establish new structural functions in a composition, such as employing non-functional chords for sonorous effects, and emphasizing the sonic aspect of texts in vocal music .

History

Sonorism is rooted in the nationalistic movement of the 1920s called "Polish colourism", whose best-known exponent is

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 6 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early works show the inf ...

. Sonorism as such was developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a means of gaining freedom from strict

serialism In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...

, particularly by

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ''A ...

, but also in a number of compositions by

Grażyna Bacewicz Grażyna Bacewicz Biernacka (; 5 February 1909 – 17 January 1969) was a Polish composer and violinist. She is the second Polish female composer to have achieved national and international recognition, the first being Maria Szymanowska in the ...

Henryk Górecki Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...

Kazimierz Serocki Kazimierz Serocki (3 March 1922 – 9 January 1981) was a Polish composer and one of the founders of the Warsaw Autumn contemporary music festival. Life Serocki was born in Toruń. He studied composition with Kazimierz Sikorski and piano wi ...

Wojciech Kilar Wojciech Kilar (; 17 July 1932 – 29 December 2013) was a Polish classical and film music composer. One of his greatest successes came with his score to Francis Ford Coppola's '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' in 1992, which received the ASCAP Award ...

, Witold Szalonek,

Witold Rudziński Witold Rudziński (14 March 1913, in Sebezh, Russian Empire – 29 February 2004) was a Polish composer, conductor, and author. He studied composition at the Mieczysław Karlowicz Conservatory of Music in Vilnius, and later at the Gregorian In ...

Zbigniew Bujarski Zbigniew Bujarski (21 August 1933 – 13 April 2018) was a Polish composer. Bujarski was born on 21 August 1933 and died on 13 April 2018 in Krakow. He was born in Muszyna, Poland about 120 kilometres south-west of Krakow, and very close to the ...

, Zbigniew Penherski, and

Zygmunt Krauze Zygmunt Krauze (born September 19, 1938) is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music, educator, and pianist. Biography Zygmunt Krauze is an important artist of his generation: a respected composer, valued pianist, educator, organiser of ...

, amongst others (; ).

Composers associated with sonoristic composition

Tadeusz Baird Tadeusz Baird (26 July 19282 September 1981) was a Polish composer. Biography Baird was born in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, in Poland. His father Edward was Scottish, while his mother Maria (née Popov) was Russian. In 1944 at the age of 16 he was depo ...

Andrzej Dobrowolski Andrzej Dobrowolski (September 9, 1921 – August 8, 1990) was a Polish composer and teacher. He studied at the Warsaw Conservatoire during the war and afterwards in the State High School of Music in Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the seco ...

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Henryk may refer to: * Henryk (given name) * Henryk, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, a village in south-central Poland * Henryk Glacier, an Antarctic glacier See also * Henryk Batuta hoax, an internet hoax * Henrykian articles The Henrician Article ...

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyman ...

Krzysztof Meyer Krzysztof Meyer (born 11 August 1943) is a Polish composer, pianist, and music scholar, formerly Dean of the Department of Music Theory (1972–1975) at the State College of Music (now Academy of Music in Kraków), and president of the Union of P ...

Bogusław Schaeffer Bogusław Julian Schaeffer (also Schäffer) (6 June 1929 – 1 July 2019) was a Polish composer, musicologist, and graphic artist, a member of the avantgarde "Cracow Group" of Polish composers alongside Krzysztof Penderecki and others. Schaeffe ...

* Witold Szalonek

References

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History

Composers associated with sonoristic composition

See also

References

Further reading

External links