| Music’s dramatic master of surreal color and subtle nuance throughout
the 1960's and 70's was undoubtedly George Crumb. Works such as Crumb’s Lorca
cycle (Ancient Voices of Children, Night of the Four Moons, etc.) And his
Vietnam War-era scores (Black Angels, Lux Aeterna) immediately won an
international reputation, and were quickly taken into the standard repertoire of
our century. Now, this musical legend has met his equal- and it’s George Crumb
himself, with another landmark composition- Quest.
Quest is Crumb’s first completed work since 1991, with its compositions
occupying the composer for more than five years- 1989-1994. Conceived as a
guitar concerto, Quest uses the guitar as a leading voice amidst an ensemble of
soprano saxophone, harp, contrabass and an exotic array of percussion. Bridge’s
premiere recording features the work’s dedicatee, guitarist David Starobin
alongside a stellar Speculum Musicae ensemble that included legendary
saxophonist, Donald Sinta.
Also given premiere recordings are the last of Crumb’s Lorca pieces-
Federico’s Little Songs for Children, (1986); as well as the 1976 revised
version of Night Music I. In both works, Speculum Musicae accompanies the superb
American soprano, Susan Narucki.
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