Black angels crumb original perfromers full#
And we should always look to our children, I guess, for new ideas.”Ĭrumb is a composer famously full of new ideas, especially about musical color. In each part of our history they kind of remake the world. The children of any generation are leading to a new representation of what people are. George Crumb: “The kind of mystical idea of the children, really, are inheriting the world. In a recent phone interview, George Crumb said he was attracted to an even more profound idea in these poems. Here, mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani and boy soprano Michael Dash perform the final duet Contemporary Chamber Ensemble on the world premiere recording of Ancient Voices on the Nonesuch label. The boy soprano, who up to that point has been heard singing offstage, walks on stage and joins the soprano in a touching final duet, symbolically reuniting the adult with what in his poem Lorca calls her “ancient soul of a child.” That idea – the hope for humanity’s redemption – is embodied theatrically in a now-famous moment near the end of Ancient Voices. Crumb handpicked the poems and combined them in a group that makes us feel our special love for childhood innocence, the desperation of barrenness, the unspeakable sorrow on the death of children and the hope that childhood innocence could even be restored. And Crumb himself, at age 91, remains a towering figure in contemporary music.Īncient Voices of Children sets poems by the early 20 th-century Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. Now, at the 50 th anniversary of the work’s world premiere, Ancient Voices of Children sounds as new as any music composed more recently and bears a message that some say is more relevant than ever. And, as one of the landmark works of 20 th-century music, it has had an enduring effect on composers and performers. A daring work for soprano, boy soprano and chamber ensemble, Ancient Voices of Children has been called George Crumb’s “full-blown masterpiece.” It had an enormous impact in its day.
31, 1970 world premiere of American composer George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children.
I mean, the audience wouldn’t stop cheering.” Gilbert Kalish: “At this performance, there was a kind of pandemonium afterwards. Also hear excerpts from two notable recordings of Ancient Voices of Children, and learn about the new music that Crumb, at age 91, is composing today.Ī performance of Crumb's Ancient Voices of Children at the 2016 Bang on a Can Summer Marathon at the Summer Festival at MassMOCA: Listen to George Crumb talk about the factors that influenced his conception of Ancient Voices of Children and hear some of the musicians who performed on the work's world premiere as they discuss that now famous concert. 31, 1970 called the work “Crumb’s Full-Blown Masterpiece.” One authority on George Crumb’s music says the piece is “widely considered to be among the most significant and influential musical compositions of the latter 20 th century.” And the work has had an enduring influence on composers to the present day. Still, the headline of the New York Times review on Oct. But in 1970, it was a work composed very much outside the mainstream of American contemporary music. Set to poems by Federico Garcia Lorca, Ancient Voices of Children might seem to have all the ingredients for instant success-emotionally powerful texts, an alluring and sensuous sound world and a hopeful message that humanity can regain its lost innocence. 1970 world premiere of George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children.Īt its 50 th anniversary this month, Ancient Voices of Children sounds as fresh and new as anything composed more recently, and it bears a message of hope that seems more relevant now than ever. That’s how the noted pianist Gilbert Kalish recalls the Oct. “At this performance, it was a kind of pandemonium afterwards.
0 kommentar(er)
