In the years leading up to the completion of the Requiem, Górecki had established close ties with European and American countries, particularly the Netherlands, where his Concerto-Cantata premiered in Amsterdam in November 1992.
[1][2] The piece was first performed on June 12, 1993, as part of the 1993 Holland Festival at the Beurs van Berlage, Wang Zaal, by the Schoenberg Ensemble, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw.
[3] The Requiem is divided into four movements of varying tempo, featuring fast and slow tempi that alternate between episodes of funereal bells and piano solos.
The piano's motivic fragment evokes Polish folk traditions with its "turn" repetitions and Lydian modality, while also coincidentally resembling the incipit of the "Dies irae" sequence.
[1] The second movement begins explosively after a pair of short rising phrases on sustained strings, featuring irregular combinations and repetitions of duple and triple meters.
The second section of the movement returns to the piano's bass A minor chord, incorporating one of Górecki's quasi-arpeggic ideas heard previously in the Concerto-Cantata's Recitativo.
The piano, which is prominently featured in the title of the work, plays an "oompah-oompah" accompaniment on A major, followed by dominant sevenths on E. This section of the movement is a carefree recreation of popular music-making, reminiscent of village hall or circus music.