Grammy Award-winning opera singer Dawn Upshaw and pianist Gilbert Kalish to perform George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children on September 11 as part of Nonesuch Records at BAM.
Set to the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca, the rare performance of George Crumb’s1970 Ancient Voices of Children is scored for piano, oboe, harp, amplified piano, toy piano, mandolin and percussion featuring prayer stones and Japanese temple bells.
Ancient Voices of Children is the perfect BAM recital debut piece for Upshaw to perform as her has a staggering love with unconventional tunes. Her resume includes performances of Gluck and Kaija Saariaho. This will be the second time Upshaw has performed the Crumb piece since 1997.
The program will also feature songs by Charles Ives and opens with Elliott Carter’s sonata for flute, obe, Cello and harpsichord as performed by Tara Helen O’Conner, Stephen Taylor, Jeffrey Grossman and Nonesuch artist Fred Sherry.
Gilbert Kalish on the other hand was the pianist of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players for 30 years and founding member of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. Kalish’s many solo recordings live in the Nonesuch label, including a remake of Charles Ives’s Concord Sonata, the sonatas of Joseph Haydn and a discography of vocal music with Jan DeGaetani.
In anticipation, take a listen below to Crumb’s opera Ancient Voices of Chirldren.
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