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Sofia Gubaidulina took Christian Morgenstern’s collection of poems "Gallow Songs" as the starting point for her own song cycle. Gubaidulina initially adapted 15 of Morgenstern’s seemingly childlike, formally simple poems, which are full of linguistic playfulness, for mezzo-soprano, double bass and percussion; she later reworked 14 of these songs for the present version for mezzo-soprano, flute, double bass, bayan and percussion. In her settings, Gubaidulina subtly explores the ambiguities of Morgenstern's originals and transforms their grotesque imagery into unique miniatures of sound.