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It is likely that Ancient Voices of Children is Crumb's most important setting of texts by Federico Garcia Lorca, an artist with whom Crumb shared an opulent aesthetic kinship. Complete texts by Lorca are not used: rather, Crumb employs fragments of the poet's works in each piece, to represent his continuing preoccupation with Lorca's words. This fragmentary usage ties all of the works of Crumb's Lorca "cycle" together.
As most of Crumb's works do, this work makes use of extended techniques for all of the instruments used. For example, the harp is prepared with paper between its strings in one instance: half of the mandolin's strings are de-tuned by a quarter-step, to give the instrument a special "flavor": and the soprano is required to sing into the inside of the piano (which is amplified), to activate sympathetic vibrations in the strings. In addition to these timbral advances, the score employs an example of "circle-music", a notation device perfected by Crumb, which allows one group of instruments to play independently from another group, and allows for more freedom of use of independent internal repetitions.
The most famous recording of this work was made in 1971 for the Elektra/Nonesuch label, and features Jan DeGaetani (who had premiered this work and previously premiered Crumb's Madrigals books I and II), and the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Arthur Weisberg. This recording won the Koussevitzky International Recording award in 1971. There is also a complete recording of the work available on the CRI label, sung by Barbara Ann Martin and conducted by James Freeman.
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