26 Little Deaths – the new album from composer, singer and violinist Carla Kihlstedt and the contemporary ensemble Present Music – celebrates the macabre wit of iconic writer and illustrator Edward Gorey (1925-2000), whose 100th birthday fell on 22 February 2025.

An hour-long set of 26 miniatures for singing violinist and chamber orchestra, the work is inspired by Gorey’s classic children’s book The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Illustrated in his distinctive crosshatched pen-and-ink style, it chronicles the grisly, alphabetical deaths of 26 children: “A is for Amy who fell down the stairs / B is for Basil, assaulted by bears,” with the morbid roll-call culminating in “Y is for Yorick whose head was knocked in” and “Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin.”

Following in the footsteps of Hanns Eisler and Kurt Weill, who moved seamlessly between art song, pop song and cabaret, Kihlstedt has created a work that captures the pathos, humour and wit of Gorey’s indelible images.