musicAeterna.org presents George Crumb’s “Ancient Voices of Children” song cycle performed by Teodor Currentzis, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, soloists Sophia Burgos (soprano) and Johannes Remp (treble from the Stuttgart boys’ choir). The cycle was recorded in February last year at the Liederhalle cultural centre.
Written in 1970 and set to Federico Garcia Lorca’s lyrics, “Ancient Voices of Children” is one of Crumb’s milestone works. Today, the piece is widely regarded as a 20th century academic music classic.
The complex and nuanced score combines bold instrumental tones and performing techniques — which freely reference various musical traditions — with tragic poetry about the loss of a child and its return in eternity.