Zbigniew Preisner - Preisner's Music (1995)

Insightfully beautiful, Preisner's Music is an album of a journey to discovery. The fine tunes and warming notes conjure images of a Sunday feast with loved ones. Joyous, dark, melancholic, and subdued, the myriad of contemplative moments allow the listener to momentarily feel Preisner's passion for life and sound, and to see through his eyes the splendour of a vast landscape that slowly unwinds. Preisner's Music is truly inspiriational.

"I don't like going back and doing what I've already done, but I had to know whether my music 'sounded' as good without a film accompanying it. Did it stand up on its own two feet when removed from its cinematic context? To check this, I chose the Wieliczka salt mine, near Krakow: a secret, mysterious magical place 130 metres below ground. A unique atmosphere with exceptional acoustics.
The risk was great though: a subterranean symphony orchestra connected by 400 metres of cables to technical equipment on the ground above. Anything could have happened. Yet it all went incredibly well. I separated the music into five parts, which I chose in line with my tastes and instincts and which combined into a single 'suite'. I wanted to produce more than just a concert; I wanted to put on a musical show. The concert was indeed a rite, a 'mysterium'.
My audience and I felt that my music lived its own life, albeit entirely at my command. Far from the studios and the mixing rooms, I rediscovered the soul of the orchestra and, for the first time ever, I heard my music exactly as I imagined it. I will always remember the Wieliczka concert as a unique step forward in the pursuit of my artistic freedom." -- Zbigniew Preisner