44 (sampleⓘ) is a choral work composed in 1981 by Henryk Górecki for large (120 voices) a cappella mixed choir.
Górecki composed the work in 1981 in protest to government intervention against the Polish Solidarity trade union - specifically, in response to the government-sanctioned assault of activists in Bydgoszcz.
In the confrontation, one was left with contusions to the skull and ribs and suspected brain damage; two others were seriously injured, inflaming an already unhappy Polish populace.
Nine months after the incident in Bydgoszcz, the opposition organizations was outlawed, and the general of the Army Wojciech Jaruzelski declared a state of martial law.
Włocławek had been the site of the 1984 assassination of the priest Jerzy Popiełuszko by state police and made a fitting scene for the performance of a work dedicated to those so violently oppressed by their government.
After his Third Symphony of 1976, Górecki was to embrace smaller-scale musical forms, such as short unaccompanied choral works (e.g. Broad Waters, Op.
In fact, the very first notes of the work are the motto and turn in A Aeolian (pitches A-B-C-B) sung in unison by the Bass II’s.
Finally, Górecki’s indication of a minimum of 120 singers in the chorus evokes the sound of congregational singing.
Górecki composed the Miserere for eight voice parts (Sopranos I+II, Altos I + II, Tenors I+II, Bass I+II) with an additive structure.
The 7th section is noticeably simpler in texture and harmony; the Alto, Tenor and Bass hold an E for nearly the whole movement as the Sop II sing a cantus.