Zbigniew Preisner - Preisner's Music

Recorded 130 metres below ground in the church of Wieliczka, Poland, excavated out of the abandoned salt mine of Cracovia.

Orchestra: The Warsaw Symphony Orchestra & The Warsaw Chamber Chorus & Childrens' Chorus of the Krakow Philharmonic
Conductor: Zdzislaw Szostak / Ryszard Zimak / Lidia Halon
Soloist: Elzbieta Towarnicka - soprano

I don't like going back and doing what I've already done, but I had to know whether my music 'sounded' as good without a film accompanying it. Did it stand up on its own two feet when removed from its cinematic context? To check this, I chose the Wieliczka salt mine, near Krakow: a secret, mysterious magical place 130 metres below ground. A unique atmosphere with exceptional acoustics.

The risk was great though: a subterranean symphony orchestra connected by 400 metres of cables to technical equipment on the ground above. Anything could have happened. Yet it all went incredibly well. I separated the music into five parts, which I chose in line with my tastes and instincts and which combined into a single 'suite'. I wanted to produce more than just a concert; I wanted to put on a musical show. The concert was indeed a rite, a 'mysterium'.

My audience and I felt that my music lived its own life, albeit entirely at my command. Far from the studios and the mixing rooms, I rediscovered the soul of the orchestra and, for the first time ever, I heard my music exactly as I imagined it. I will always remember the Wieliczka concert as a unique step forward in the pursuit of my artistic freedom..

Zbigniew Preisner

Tracklist

1 Perte (Eminent Domain) 2:05
1ère Partie
2 Lac (Decalogue 1) 2:40
3 Commencement (Tu Ne Tueras Point) 1:30
4 Decision (Tu Ne Tueras Point) 1:46
5 Holocaust (Decalogue 8) 1:43
6 Nymphea (Decalogue 9) 2:10
2ième Partie
7 Marionnettes (La Double Vie De Veronique) 2:27
8 Pluie (Secret Garden) 1:51
9 Jardin D'Hiver (Secret Garden) 2:05
10 Oiseaux (Secret Garden) 0:54
11 Jardin D'Ete (Secret Garden) 2:14
3ième Partie
12 Lave (Mouvements Du Désir) 1:40
13 Conte D'Amour (Mouvements Du Désir) 2:25
14 Cascade (At Play In The Fields Of The Lord) 3:45
15 Damage (Fatale) 1:35
16 Homecoming (Pour L'Amour D'Une Femme) 2:27
17 Bataille (Europa Europa) 1:41
4ième Partie
18 Aurore (Quartet In 4 Movements) 4:19
19 Labyrinthe (Opera Egyptien) 9:10
20 Ciel (Opera Egyptien) 3:04
5ième Partie
21 Tango (Trois Couleurs / Blanc) 2:24
22 Bolero (Trois Couleurs / Rouge) 3:01
23 Enfer (La Double Vie De Veronique) 4:40
24 Song For The Unification Of Europe (Trois Couleurs / Bleu) 7:11
25 Perte (Eminent Domain) 2:32

Discogs Release: Zbigniew Preisner ‎– Preisner's Music