Versatile German composer Heiner Goebbels conceived this tribute to Hanns Eisler, combining some of his most famous chamber music and songs with jazz-inspired improvisations and audio collages.
The songs, mostly to texts by Brecht, are expressively interpreted by actor Josef Bierbichler. The recording is based on a "staged performance" that has introduced a new generation of music lovers to Eisler's music.
"Don't illustrate your feelings but comment on them musically. Be objective" (Eisler). This is precisely what Heiner Goebbels provides with his uplifting "Eislermaterial", one of the musical high points of the late 1990s and one of my favourite Eisler interpretations. "Eislermaterial"combines the best elements of music theatre with an inward brand of drama normally associated with chamber music. It's a genuine class production, a concept album of the highest order, superbly performed and vividly engineered. I cannot imagine that any sensitive listener will fail to respond.
Goebbels takes Eisler at his word, "commenting" by allusion, gesture, violent musical juxtapositions and some ingenious sound painting. Nothing is tawdry or gratuitous and the texts, mainly by Bertholt Brecht, have a biting, straight-to-the-heart quality that cries out for the sort of tangy treatment Goebbels gives them. Eisler-Goebbels switches from Twenties-style ferocity to understated melancholy, often segueing on the back of instrumental squawks, shudders or scrapes. Think in terms of Kurt Weill visited by Michael Nyman and Uri Caine, then refined and refashioned in a style that is very much Goebbels' own. Rather than employ a trained singer for the various songs Goebbels opts for an actor, Josef Bierbichler, whose tender but frail vocalising invariably suits the mood.
Heiner Goebbels was born in Neustadt, Germany, on August 17, 1952, relocating to the Frankfurt area at age 20 to study music and sociology. He first achieved notoriety in 1976 upon premiering a number of works, including "Rote Sonne," "Circa," and "Improvisations on Themes by Hanns Eisler," most performed in conjunction with the "Sogenanntes Linksradikales Blasorchester".
Concurrently, Goebbels also collaborated with Alfred Harth and beginning in 1982, he served as a member of the longstanding art rock trio "Cassiber".
He further expanded his growing oeuvre with a series of theatrical, film, and ballet scores and during the mid-'80s began writing and directing audio plays of his own, seeking his initial inspiration in the texts of Heiner Mueller.
Beginning in 1988, Goebbels also turned to authoring chamber music with the Ensemble Modern, and in 1994 completed "Surrogate Cities," his first major composition for symphony orchestra.
Heiner Goebbels & Ensemble Modern & Josef Bierbichler -Eislermaterial
(192 kbps)
The songs, mostly to texts by Brecht, are expressively interpreted by actor Josef Bierbichler. The recording is based on a "staged performance" that has introduced a new generation of music lovers to Eisler's music.
"Don't illustrate your feelings but comment on them musically. Be objective" (Eisler). This is precisely what Heiner Goebbels provides with his uplifting "Eislermaterial", one of the musical high points of the late 1990s and one of my favourite Eisler interpretations. "Eislermaterial"combines the best elements of music theatre with an inward brand of drama normally associated with chamber music. It's a genuine class production, a concept album of the highest order, superbly performed and vividly engineered. I cannot imagine that any sensitive listener will fail to respond.
Goebbels takes Eisler at his word, "commenting" by allusion, gesture, violent musical juxtapositions and some ingenious sound painting. Nothing is tawdry or gratuitous and the texts, mainly by Bertholt Brecht, have a biting, straight-to-the-heart quality that cries out for the sort of tangy treatment Goebbels gives them. Eisler-Goebbels switches from Twenties-style ferocity to understated melancholy, often segueing on the back of instrumental squawks, shudders or scrapes. Think in terms of Kurt Weill visited by Michael Nyman and Uri Caine, then refined and refashioned in a style that is very much Goebbels' own. Rather than employ a trained singer for the various songs Goebbels opts for an actor, Josef Bierbichler, whose tender but frail vocalising invariably suits the mood.
Heiner Goebbels was born in Neustadt, Germany, on August 17, 1952, relocating to the Frankfurt area at age 20 to study music and sociology. He first achieved notoriety in 1976 upon premiering a number of works, including "Rote Sonne," "Circa," and "Improvisations on Themes by Hanns Eisler," most performed in conjunction with the "Sogenanntes Linksradikales Blasorchester".
Concurrently, Goebbels also collaborated with Alfred Harth and beginning in 1982, he served as a member of the longstanding art rock trio "Cassiber".
He further expanded his growing oeuvre with a series of theatrical, film, and ballet scores and during the mid-'80s began writing and directing audio plays of his own, seeking his initial inspiration in the texts of Heiner Mueller.
Beginning in 1988, Goebbels also turned to authoring chamber music with the Ensemble Modern, and in 1994 completed "Surrogate Cities," his first major composition for symphony orchestra.
Heiner Goebbels & Ensemble Modern & Josef Bierbichler -Eislermaterial
(192 kbps)
6 Kommentare:
Thanks. I enjoyed.
You are welcome! It´s one of my favourite Eisler albums...
Hello, is it possible to re-upload the album? Thanks a lot!
Now there´s a fresh link. Best wishes!
Thank you very much. Ensemble Modern is propably the best contemporary ensemble on this moment.
I appreciate the Ensemble Modern recordings very much.
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