The people of Poland have lived through often impossible conditions over the last three centuries, and this album is Polish-American composer Mark Nowakowski’s tribute to their spirit of survival. Songs of Forgiveness is both a meditation on anger and grief and a lamentation on the stark realities of a society riven by tragedy. “Blood, Forgotten” is a multimedia memorial for the victims of Nazi and Soviet aggression during World War II, the electronic soundtrack using sounds from an instrument that survived one of the concentration camps. Partly written as a memorial for Henryk Gorecki, “Grandfather Songs also includes the surreal element of a recording of Nowakorski’s family singing the war song “Hej Ulani.” These deeply moving works are a highly personal tribute to the spirit of the people of Poland.