With this choral piece, Wislo moja, Wislo szara, Op. 46 ((My Vistula, Grey Vistula), Henryk Górecki continues to mine the same vein as in his Szeroka woda, Op. 39, from 1979. Indulging in his passion for the traditional music of his native Poland, the composer has created a simple, and simply beautiful, choral setting of a patriotic folk song that offers a tribute to the Vistula River, a central feature of Polish geography.

The music is written to flow naturally, with harmonies arising from a subtle counterpoint that underscores the delicacy of the original melody. It is a measure of Górecki's own assimilation of such traditional sources that this piece, and the others in this line of choral works, sound very much like other similar works by the composer which use entirely original material. Wislo Moja, Wislo Szara was premiered on April 28, 1987 at the 27th Poznan Musical Spring Festival by the Schola Cantorum Gedanensis.

© James Harley, Rovi