Of Crumb and the Crash

Synopsis

In the year 1929, October 24 fell on a Thursday, and that particular day has the dubious honor of being dubbed “Black Thursday” — for it was on that fateful day that the New York Stock Exchange crashed. A full-blown financial panic ensued, leading to the Great Depression of the 1930s. For many who saw their fortunes wiped out overnight, it must have seemed like the end of the world.

Meanwhile, in Charleston, West Virginia, a baby boy was born on Black Thursday who would grow up to become one of America’s most original composers. By the 1970s, George Crumb was acknowledged as a masterful creator of impressionistic and mysterious soundscapes, with evocative titles like Dream Sequence, Night of the Four Moons, and Eleven Echoes of Autumn.

Most of Crumbs’ pieces are for small ensemble, but in 1977 he composed a large-scale work, Star-Child, scored for antiphonal choirs, bell ringers, and a large symphony orchestra positioned for surround-sound effect in the concert hall. Crumb said it traces a “progression from darkness and despair to light or joy and spiritual realization.”

A recording of Star-Child was issued to celebrate Crumb’s 70th birthday in 1999 — a year, curiously enough, in which the stock market enjoyed an all-time high, just before taking yet another downward plunge!

Music Played in Today's Program

George Crumb (1929-2022): Musica Apocalyptica, from Star-Child; Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra; Thomas Conlin, conductor; Bridge 9095