Elder G suggested this early morning music for Spiritual Reflection:
Gorecki – Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)
Haunting yet deeply comforting, this piece touches on grief but ultimately offers a quiet sense of peace.
Composed in 1976, this symphony is Górecki’s best-known work. It features three slow movements, each based on texts of lament and loss:
Elder G
- A 15th-century Polish prayer by a mother mourning her son’s death in war.
- A message scratched on the wall of a Gestapo prison cell by an 18-year-old girl during World War II.
- A traditional Silesian folk song of a mother searching for her lost son.
First Movement
Text: A 15th-century Polish lament, written from the perspective of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, mourning the death of her son.
My son, my chosen and beloved,
Share your wounds with your mother,
And because, dear son, I have always carried you in my heart,
And always served you faithfully,
Speak to your mother, to make her happy,
Although you are already leaving me, my cherished hope.
Second Movement
Text: An inscription scrawled on the wall of a Gestapo prison cell in Zakopane during World War II by an 18-year-old Polish girl, Helena Wanda Błażusiakówna. She was captured on June 25, 1944.
Oh Mama, do not cry.
No, do not cry.
Queen of Heaven,
Protect me always.
Hail Mary, full of grace.
Third Movement
Text: A Polish folk song from the Silesian region, sung by a mother searching for her lost son.
Where has he gone, my dearest son?
Perhaps during the uprising
The cruel enemy killed him.
Ah, you bad people,
In the name of God, the most holy,
Tell me, why did you kill my son?
Never again will I hear him calling,
"Dear mother, oh my beloved mama."
And I, poor mother,
Must constantly weep for him.
