''Utrenja'', alternatively spelled as ''Utrenia'',
''Utrenya'', or ''Jutrznia'', and sometimes also translated as ''Matins'',
is a set of two liturgical compositions
by Polish composer
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 ...
. They were composed and premiered in 1970 and 1971.
"Jutrznia" in this context refers to "
Matins
Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning.
The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated by ...
of the
Passion of Jesus
In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ.
Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...
" in
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
rites (Polish: "Jutrznia Męki Pańskiej", Russian/Church Slavonic: "Utrenja Strastiej Khristovych").
History
Following his
Stabat Mater
The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...
, Penderecki garnered certain fame in avant-garde circles, though, in respect to his upcoming radicalism and emotional directness in his orchestral works, this led to musicians and music lovers to turn their backs on him under accusations of him being reactionary and on disrupting musical progress.
In fact, Russian authorities banned the piece, which could only be performed in Russia in 1995.
Conception and composition
The two parts of Utrenja were conceived and written separately, even though at the time of the latter's premiere, the two parts became strongly associated and started to be performed together generally. Penderecki himself
and some critics
have associated it also with
St. Luke Passion, which would make it a triptych cycle; however, the complete version of Utrenja is recorded and performed separately, with no connections to St. Luke's Passion or Stabat Mater.
As a liturgical composition, Utrenja Part I is inspired by the
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
ritual of
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...
and, therefore, is focused on the lamentation, passion and entombment of
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
; on the other hand, Utrenja Part II is based on the morning service of
Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
, which commemorates and renders homage to the resurrection of Christ. The text from both parts has been taken from
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
writings.
Both parts were commissioned by the
West German Radio
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...
. Part I was premiered in
Altenberg on April 8, 1970, under the baton of
Andrzej Markowski
Andrzej Markowski (22 August 1924 – 30 October 1986) was a Polish composer and conductor. He was born in Lublin and died in Warsaw. He was the director of the Wrocław Philharmonic from 1965 to 1968 and founded the Wratislavia Cantans festiv ...
. Part II was premiered in
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
, again under Markowski, on May 28, 1971. This performance was followed by Part I; however, the premiere of the complete version of Utrenja took place in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, on September 16, 1971, under
Jerzy Katlewicz
Jerzy Katlewicz (2 April 1927 Bochnia – 16 November 2015 Kraków) was a Polish music conductor, pianist and Professor of the Academy of Music in Kraków since 1990. Katlewicz graduated from the same Academy in 1952 (then called ''Państwowa Wyż ...
. Critical and audience reception of the work was tumultuous, partly due to the Polish government crackdown following the
Gdansk shipyard riots.
Analysis
Given that Utrenja is a set of two different compositions, their movements are numbered separately. A typical performance of the complete work would last 75–80 minutes to perform. The original published score leaves all movements of Part I untitled except No. 5, which is entitled ''Irmologion''. Part II, however, has no movement division, and is presented without pauses or a discernible separation of sections. The most common movement list used in all published recordings of the piece is as follows:
* Part I: ''Złożenie Chrystusa do grobu'' (The Entombment of Christ)
** I. ''Troparion''
** II. ''Pieśni Pochwalne'' (Songs of Praise)
** III. ''Irmos''
** IV. ''Kanon Wielkiej Soboty, Pieśń 9'' (Canon of Holy Saturday, Song 9)
** V. ''Irmologion (Stichira)''
*Part II: ''Zmartwychwstanie Pańskie'' (The Resurrection of Christ)
** I. ''Ewangelia'' (The Gospel)
** II. ''Stichira''
** III. ''Psalm z Troparionem'' (Psalm with Troparion)
** IV. ''Kanon Paschy, Pieśni 1, 3'' (Passover Canon, Songs 1 and 3)
** V. ''Kanon Paschy, Pieśń 8'' (Passover Canon, Song 8)
** VI. ''Kontakion''
** VII. ''Ikos''
** VIII. ''Kanon Paschy, Fragmenty'' (Passover Canon, Fragments)
Part I is scored for 2
mixed 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 sp ...
s, 5 solo voices and
symphony 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, ce ...
,
whereas Part II is scored for choir,
boys' choir
A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type. Members of a boys' choir are technically known as '' ...
, 5 solo voices and symphony orchestra.
Reception
This composition received mixed reviews from critics. Krzysztof Penderecki himself stated in a radio interview prior to the work's premiere that he reached his own musical style with the composition and the opinion of critics did not concern him.
Tadeusz Marek considered the first performance a "complete success" characterised by "chilling and static immobility". The premiere of both parts was also reviewed by ''Melos'', where Monika Lichtenfeld praised the compositional techniques used by Penderecki. Miles Kastendieck praised the sonoristic innovation and its relation on the work's overall success.
German magazine Neue Zeitschrift für Musik considered it an "emotionally moving piece",
while Martin Blindow, from ''Music und Kirche'', stated that Utrenja was "one of the most important large choral works of our time", even though it was not intended for liturgic performance.
Peter Benary, however, acknowledged the work's "dynamic extremes", although the
tone clusters were used too often for his taste.
Andrew DeRhen, from ''
High Fidelity'', considered that Penderecki missed the opportunity to give Utrenja a genuine Eastern flavor, and he used an international modernist style instead;
however, other journals praised the composition for the same reason.
Tadeusz Kaczyński, also from Ruch Muzyczny, considered the work to be a "contemplative work", and Marian Wallek-Wallewski considered it "extremely boring".
Austrian magazine Öesterreichische Musikzeitschrift also stated that the composition "can be easily understood on an emotional level by listeners, despite its passages of clusters and its lack of clear tonality."
Mirosław Kondracki, from Ruch Muzyczny, was greatly surprised by the dramatic effect of Part I, but was disappointed in Part II, which he considered to be a throwback to Penderecki's St. Luke's Passion.
Gerhard Kramer, from ''Melos'', thought that the piece is "musically attractive, with its fascinating treatment of clusters combined with the sounds of old Slavic church music."
The composition also received mixed reviews in performances other than the premiere. Robert Moevs, from
Musical Quarterly
''The Musical Quarterly'' is the oldest academic journal on music in America. Originally established in 1915 by Oscar Sonneck, the journal was edited by Sonneck until his death in 1928. Sonneck was succeeded by a number of editors, including Car ...
, gave a negative review for Utrenja, which he thought it used "rudimentary tendencies and superficial complexity",
while "Denver", from ''Musical Journal'', stated that the piece was "overstated", even though he praised the solos and the religious exultation.
In a performance in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, Trevor Richardson, from
Music and Musicians
Hansom Books was a British publisher founded in 1950 by Philip Dosse to produce the magazine ''Dance and Dancers''. Magazines in a similar format were then founded to cover other arts, so forming the Seven Arts Group. The other titles were ''Art ...
, considered the work of little interest, but "no more boring than a great deal of other perfectly acceptable music of all periods.”
''Ewangelia'' and ''Kanon Paschy, Pieśń 8'' from Part II, along with other pieces by Penderecki, were used in the 1980
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
film ''
The Shining'', along with pieces by
Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos, November 14, 1939) is an American musician and composer best known for her electronic music and film scores. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before moving ...
,
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...
, and
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...
.
Notable recordings
Notable recordings of this composition include:
References
{{Authority control
1970 compositions
1971 compositions
Compositions by Krzysztof Penderecki
Compositions that use extended techniques