The Dream of Jacob

The work's original German title, Als Jakob erwachte aus dem Schlaf, sah er, daß Gott dagewesen war. Er hat es aber nicht gemerkt (Jacob woke from his sleep and said: Truly the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it),[1][3] is extracted from the Bible and can be found in Genesis 28:16. The work was commissioned for the Silver Jubilee of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, to whom it is dedicated, and was first performed in Monte Carlo on August 14, 1974, by the Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo under Stanislaw Skrowaczewski.[4][5] It was eventually published by the Polish Music Publishing House and Schott Music.[2][6]

The composition is scored for three flutes, three oboes, three B clarinets, three bassoons (ten woodwind players also double on ocarinas), five F horns, three B-flat trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, percussion and a large string section.[6] The composition is loosely based on the Bible passage mentioned above, therefore trying to resemble being in the desert on a ladder to heaven, while the angels are ascending and descending.[1]

The composition is in one movement and takes approximately 7 minutes to perform. The score is notated in C.[6] This composition is still one of the most performed in its repertoire and also the composition with which Penderecki introduced his neo-Romantic style, which he further developed in his following works,[5] moving away from the style he had been using for the previous 15 years, which included the composition of his first symphony.[7]

The composition received initially mostly positive reviews from Polish and European critics.[2] In the Polish literary magazine Kultura Paryska, the composition is praised for the elimination of "aggressive sound effects and terseness of form" in favor of a more refined style.[8] German music critic Detlef Gojowy described the compositions as bearing strong influences of Richard Wagner and Dmitri Shostakovich.[9] Andrew Porter, from The New Yorker, was also struck by the composer's exquisite use of the twelve ocarinas.[10] However, Polish magazine Ruch muzyczny stated that The Dream of Jacob did not "fulfill the emotional expectations of the German audience”, but the logic and clarity used in its composition was heartily welcomed.[11] Bernard Holland, from the New York Times, highlighted that the Kraków Philharmonic's performances were reviewed favourably, but also noted that the people "would eventually tire of the riveting sounds in his works and begin to wonder why its musical ideas do not flow together more effectively".[12] Penderecki was also criticized by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra for the difficulty of the notation.[13] and June Schneider, from Music and Musicians, questioned if the composer "is able to provide anything other than superficial sound manipulations".[14]

The Dream of Jacob has been featured in other audiovisual material. The following is a list of the movies and video games in which the composition is featured:

• 1980 American film The Shining used prominent works by Penderecki, among them The Dream of Jacob.[15]
• The 1985 BBC television series, The Day the Universe Changed, by James Burke, uses extracts in the first episode.
• The composition was also featured in 2006 American film Inland Empire.[16]
• The soundtrack of Polish film Katyn, which contains The Dream of Jacob, consists exclusively of works by Penderecki.[17]
• Some fragments can be heard in 2007 first-person shooter video game BioShock.[18]
• The album The Dream Off Penderecki (2013), as well as the theatrical performance "The Dream Off Penderecki", are inspired by Penderecki's composition The Dream of Jacob, which was edited and published exclusively for celebration of his 80th birthday. The album was recorded by Theater of Creation (pl:Teatr Tworzenia) including Derek Jacobi, Daniel Olbrychski, Józef Skrzek, Jaroslaw Pijarowski and many others.[19]

Following are some of the most well-known recordings of this piece:

• List of compositions by Krzysztof Penderecki

• A preview of the original score