Symphony No. 7 (Penderecki)

Symphony No. 7
Symphony No. 7
"Seven Gates of Jerusalem"
Choral symphony by Krzysztof Penderecki
	The composer in 2008
Occasion	Third millennium of Jerusalem
Text	Biblical texts
Language	Latin, Hebrew
Composed	1996
Performed	January 1997, Jerusalem
Duration	60 min.
Movements	7
Scoring	5 soloists; narrator; choir; orchestra;

Krzysztof Penderecki wrote his Seventh Symphony, subtitled "Seven Gates of Jerusalem", in 1996 to commemorate the third millennium of the city of Jerusalem. Originally conceived as an oratorio, this choral symphony was premièred in Jerusalem in January 1997; it was only after the first Polish performance two months later that Penderecki decided to call it a symphony. It is written for two sopranos, alto, tenor, bass, narrator, chorus and orchestra.