Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs on massive saxophone sounds surprisingly wonderful

30 March 2016, 15:05 | Updated: 5 January 2017, 16:16

colin stetson gorecki

Experimental saxophonist Colin Stetson’s latest project is a reimagining of Henryk Gorecki’s chart-topping symphony.

Colin Stetson is a noted cool person. Normally, he plays saxophone with cool people people like Sarah Neufeld from Arcade Fire, and he’s moonlighted extensively with cabin-dwelling cool people Bon Iver.

He’s a recording artist in his own right, too, with a clutch of experimental albums under his belt. Also, he is insane at circular breathing.

But his latest project is something quite different. With help from some more cool people, he’s re-imagined Henryk Gorecki’s seminal third symphony, his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, for saxophone and various other instruments (including, like the original work, a solo soprano).

Here’s what it sounds like:

Stetson himself said that his version, entitled ’Sorrow’, “draws heavily from the world of black metal, early electronic music, and from my own body of solo saxophone music.”

Here’s the Gorecki original: