Wojciech Kilar

Hard questions about the meaning of existence, marital troubles and orchestral music by Wojciech Kilar that still enchants with beautiful melodies one moment and unusual instrumentation the next. The soundtracks from two films by Krzysztof Zanussi, complete on CD for the first time.

Begun in 1969, the collaboration between Kilar and Zanussi flourished throughout the 1970s. The formally daring Iluminacja led the composer to write a complex, at times strongly avant-garde score in which obsessive piano and harpsichord motifs collide with solo flute parts and mystical, unreal choirs. Bilans kwartalny is a return to a more classically treated orchestra (strings!). It also contains one of the most beautiful lyrical themes in Kilar's entire output, now available in all the instrumental variations heard in the film.

The recordings appear complete on CD for the first time, remastered from the original tapes in the archive of the Documentary and Feature Film Studio (Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych) in Warsaw. The booklet holds an extensive text, memorabilia and even a photo from the recording session. Bilans kwartalny fills tracks 1 to 8 and Iluminacja tracks 9 to 18. The performers are a music ensemble (on Bilans kwartalny) and the Polish Radio Grand Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, conducted by Konrad Bryzek.