64E8EA41-4AE6-4002-9378-B91AA621C9B0

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ID64E8EA41-4AE6-4002-9378-B91AA621C9B0
TitlecodeR00482
Title NameAncient Songs for Baritone Voice and Mixed Septet
Marketing CopyComposed for William Sharp and the Twentieth Century Consort. Movements: I. The Starts (text from the Passamaquoddy Indians); II. Aiken Drum (traditional text); III. Ghosts and Shadows (text from the Gabon Pygmies); IV. Death Song (text from the Papago Indians); V. The Wreckage of the Moon (text by James Wright).
InstrumentationBaritone Solo: Flute(d Picc), Clarinet(d BCl), Perc(1), Piano, Violin, Cello
Commission(not set)
Dedication(not set)
Program NotesAncient Songs, for baritone voice with instrumental ensemble, is a setting of five texts that resonate with understanding that is instinctive and old. The idea for this selection of texts began to assert itself as I was reading parts of Jerome Rothenberg's Technicians of the Sacred (1968, 1985). This collection of translations of "primitive" poetry seemed to be in concord with musical impulses that reach beyond the civilizing influence of the Western tradition into myth, fancy, illusion, and 'wildness.' Two texts are translations found in Rothenberg's collection: The Stars and Ghosts and Shadows.
Title Brand2
Year Composed1992
Copyright Number(not set)
Copyright Year(not set)
Duration22
Ensemble Size8
Date Created2008-10-31 20:31:39.000000
Date Updated2025-09-30 20:31:39
Inhouse Note(not set)
Bsc Code(not set)
Text AuthorTexts by the Passamaquoddy Indians, Papago Indians, Gabon Pygmies, and by James Wright
Premier Performance Memo(not set)
Recording CreditsBridge Records cat. 9167. Dinosaur Annex New Music Ensemble, 2005.
Review"Liptak's colorful use of instrumental timbres and spare, translucent orchestration generally enhanced the somber moods of the poetry. The last two pieces, with texts confronting the hollow spectre of death, were hauntingly moving."
--Rochester Democrat and Chronicle<BR><BR>

"...baritone William Sharp was most effective in David Liptak's richly atmospheric Ancient Songs."<BR>
--The Boston Globe<BR><BR>

"Baritone William Sharp negotiated the chromatic convolutions of the Liptak handily and brought a vast palette of vocal color to its various shadings of night music from mysticism to menace to madness." <BR>--The Springfield Union News
Awards(not set)
Title Category12
Title MovementsI. The Starts (text from the Passamaquoddy Indians)
II. Aiken Drum (traditional text)
III. Ghosts and Shadows (text from the Gabon Pygmies)
IV. Death Song (text from the Papago Indians)
V. The Wreckage of the Moon (text by James Wright)
Title Grade(not set)
Set Series ID(not set)
Title Instrument Category TextLow Voice
Title Sub Category Text(not set)
Title Sub Category17
Title Instrument Header74
Title Grade Text(not set)
Clean Urlancient-songs-for-baritone-voice-and-mixed-septet-r00482