The current Schwann catalog lists nine versions of Górecki's phenomenally popular Symphony 3 (Sorrowful Songs) composed in 1976. During his early career, Górecki embraced serialism and concentrated on instrumental sonorities in the vein of Messiaen. But in Symphony 3, his atonality disappears into a strategy of gently mounting thematic pitches, taking the strings through all possible registers. All three movements are marked lento, rare for any symphony. The Elektra Nonesuch recording has tended to be the bestseller, but give this Naxos release a try--it's just as good. The sound is excellent and the performances are above reproach.

Zofia Kilanowicz on Naxos has also obviously become immersed in the word-settings. In the work’s closing section, with its hint of a gentle but remorseless tolling bell, Wit achieves a mood of simple serenity, even forgiveness. The Three Pieces in Olden Style make a fine postlude, the second with its dance figurations, the third with its fierce tremolando violins, like shafts of bright light, suddenly resolving to a very positive ending. All in all, this seems in many ways a ‘best buy’.