Panufnik believed the elements of battlefield and prayer were the two dominating forces in Poland’s tragic history.
Vision III (Allegro assai – Agitato) begins with a section for solo percussion and is based on the minor second (F-E).
The rest of the orchestra joins in to produce an agitated and dramatic tutti which abruptly ends in silence.
[8] The piece has attracted the attention of many respected conductors, including Georg Solti, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and Tadaaki Otaka.
The British premiere occurred in London in 1968 with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Constantin Silvestri.
[11] EMI recorded Sinfonia Sacra in 1967 with Panufnik conducting the Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra.
R. Reisner (Farnham: Ashgate, 2015) Conway, P., 'Andrzej Panufnik Symphonies: CD Round-up', Tempo 61 (2007), pp.