''Exodus'' is a composition for

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

written between 1979 and 1981 by the Polish composer

Wojciech Kilar Wojciech Kilar (; 17 July 1932 – 29 December 2013) was a Polish classical and film music composer. One of his greatest successes came with his score to Francis Ford Coppola's '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' in 1992, which received the ASCAP Award a ...

. The score is based on the eponymous story from the Biblical

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...

and is set to a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

text. Its world premiere was given at the

Warsaw Autumn Warsaw Autumn () is the largest international Polish festival of contemporary music. It was established in 1956 by two composers, Tadeusz Baird and Kazimierz Serocki, and officially established by the Head Board of the Polish Composers' Union ...

festival on 19 September 1981. The piece remains one of Kilar's most famous concert works and has been recorded multiple times.

Composition

''Exodus'' is cast in a single movement and has a duration of about 22 minutes. It is based on a single, Jewish-themed

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

—itself built upon a descending seven-note phrase—that repeats eight times throughout the work in different instrumental combinations. Due to this repetitive structure, the piece has often been compared to

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

's ''

Boléro ''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. It is one of Ravel's most famous compositions. It was also one of his last completed works before illness diminished his ability to write music. Composition T ...

'', to which Kilar made deliberate allusions.

Reception

Critical response to ''Exodus'' has been heavily divided since its premiere. Fellow composer

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

complimented the work as a "tiptop... Kosher ''Boléro''" and Kilar regarded it as one of his most successful works. Christopher Thomas of ''MusicWeb International'' described the piece as "strikingly imaginative in its use of orchestral resources" and wrote, "It is not until late in the work after a brass led, martial like climax that there is a change in the momentum, the choir entering with rapid biblical exclamations before the word Domine is repeated with increasing intensity, over the top of which trumpets reintroduce the original theme. The choir then take up the theme and drive the work to a triumphant conclusion." Reviewing the work on album alongside Kilar's ''Angelus'', however, ''

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

'' described it as "rather too crudely cinematic to be completely convincing (I find the closing crowd scene of ''Exodus'' little short of farcical) and both overstay their welcome: the 19-minute orchestral introduction to ''Exodus''‚ based entirely on a seven-note melody‚ is the nearest thing I've ever heard to Ravel's ''Boléro'': apart‚ that is‚ from Ravel's ''Boléro'' itself." Andrew Clements of ''

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC, was the original owner and publisher together with ...

'' was similarly critical of the work, remarking that "the range of effects is wide – from syllabic chanting to melodic lines that strive for a Górecki-like spirituality, though bombast is never far away. Unremarkable music, then, unremarkably performed."

References

{{italic title Compositions by Wojciech Kilar 1981 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra Choral compositions Cultural depictions of Moses Works based on the Book of Exodus