Symphony No. 7, "Seven Gates of Jerusalem by Penderecki, De la (2023/2023), Dirijor Maciej Tworek, NFM (Narodowe Forum Muzyki), Wrocław, Poland

Despite the monumentality, the powerful vocal and instrumental line-up, the serious demands placed on the five solo singers and the logistical problems related to the arrangement of the orchestra on and off stage, Krzysztof Penderecki 's Symphony No. 7 "The Seven Gates of Jerusalem" remains one of the composer's most frequently performed works. The mighty symphony was created to celebrate Jerusalem's three thousand years of existence. It was first performed in this city in January 1997 under the baton of the outstanding American conductor Lorin Maazel. The meaning of the number seven translates into many aspects of this work: it consists of seven parts, many fragments are in the 7/4 metre, the main theme of the passacaglia in the second and fourth parts begins with seven repetitions of the main sound, and the whole work is crowned with the repeated times an E major chord. In addition to the grandiose sections intended for the entire ensemble, we will also find in this work a part performed exclusively by the a cappella choir - the setting of the psalm De profundis. Especially for this symphony, Penderecki constructed a new instrument, the tubaphone. It consists of PVC pipes of various lengths and thicknesses, which are played with paddles made of ping-pong rackets with glued foam. The sounds of this instrument give dynamism to the work's fifth movement, Lauda , ​​Jerusalem , Dominum . Eerie in expression is the sixth part, in which the narrator recites passages from the Book of Ezekiel in Hebrew . It is accompanied by various orchestral special effects, as well as the sound of a bass trumpet coming from above, symbolizing the voice of God. The seventh part is a triumphal apotheosis in which fragments of psalms and books of the Old Testament prophets resound.